Milton Friedman

Press, 1 May 1981, Page 12

Milton Friedman

Sir,—W. Rosenberg may feel appalled at Milton Friedman’s views, but fortunately there are very few who share those feelings. Professor Rosenberg seems to have missed the whole point of Friedman’s view — that of the freedom to choose. Friedman is an advocate of individual, economic and political freedom — how many people would prefer not to have these freedoms? He points out only the obvious — that State controlled economies do not constitute freedom, and that people lose their individual freedom as the amount of State control increases. He won the Nobel Prize because of his real talents for pinpointing the cause of the many problems inherent in modern Keynes-based economies. It is typical that the economists Professor Rosenberg cites debate the ridiculous question, “What is money?” instead of constructively tack-

ling the rot of State-controlled economics. It is no wonder they rejected Friedman’s excellent proposals. — Yours, etc.,

M. J. STANLEY. April 29, 1981.

Sir,—l thought the interview with Milton Friedman the other night was excellent. His views were straight to the point, and his proposals deserve more attention from everyone whd is sick of the present state of this country. I am upset, as many others are, I am sure, with the continued losses made by the Railways and Air New Zealand. Not only do we pay increases in travel costs, but we also shell out tens of millions every year to cover the losses. The 5120 million we paid to cover these losses last year alone would have been most welcome in our own pockets, providing new jobs, or paying off our big government debt. It is a shame that so many of our economists sit round wondering what money is, and reject the proposals made by Professor Friedman. It is obvious what the problem is; just how long can we continue to ignore it? — Yours, etc.,

BARRY MILLER. April 28, 1981.