If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand. — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
How can thinking people believe that a government that cannot deliver the mail can deliver gas better than Exxon, Mobil, Texaco, Gulf,… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Only government can take perfectly good paper, cover it with perfectly good ink and make the combination worthless. — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government. — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
One of the reasons that I am in favor of less government is because when you have more government, industrialists take it… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Most of the energy of political work is devoted to correcting the effects of mismanagement of government. — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
There are severe limits to the good that the government can do for the economy, but there are almost no limits to… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The great virtue of a free market is that it enables people who hate each other, or who are from vastly different… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Government has three primary functions. It should provide for military defense of the nation. It should enforce contracts between individuals. It should… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
It is a mark of how far we have gone on the road to serfdom that government allocation and rationing of oil… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The countries that have risen and separated out as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union are, on the whole,… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
I have long been a critic of Social Security, basically because I believe that it is not the business of government to… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
When a private enterprise fails, it is closed down; when a government enterprise fails, it is expanded. Isn't that exactly what's been… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Socialism, in the traditional sense, meant government ownership and operation of the means of production. Outside of North Korea and a couple… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The greatest advances of civilization, whether in architecture or painting, in science and literature, in industry or agriculture, have never come from… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
There's only one thing that all of the central banks control and that is the base, their own liability, and they can… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
If, for example, existing government intervention is minor, we shall attach a smaller weight to the negative effect of additional government intervention.… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The strongest argument for free enterprise is that it prevents anybody from having too much power. Whether that person is a government… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Government power must be dispersed. If government is to exercise power, better in the county than in the state, better in the… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
When a man spends his own money to buy something for himself, he is very careful about how much he spends and… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Economists may not know much. But we know one thing very well: how to produce surpluses and shortages. Do you want a… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Our minds tell us, and history confirms, that the great threat to freedom is the concentration of power. Government is necessary to… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
I am in favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it's possible. The reason… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The Founding Fathers envisioned a federal government that trusts its people with their money and freedom, outlining this limited, non-intrusive federal government… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
When government - in pursuit of good intentions - tries to rearrange the economy, legislate morality, or help special interests, the cost… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
There is likely to be a lag between the need for action and government ["an individual's" or "a team's"] recognition of the… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The existence of a free market does not of course eliminate the need for government. On the contrary, government is essential both… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
There is still a tendency to regard any existing government intervention as desirable, to attribute all evils to the market, and to… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
“The smaller the unit of government and the more restricted the functions assigned government, the less likely it is that its actions… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Spending by government currently amounts to about 45 percent of national income. By that test, government owns 45 percent of the means… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The world runs on individuals pursuing their self interests. The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus. Einstein didn't… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
They think that the cure to big government is to have bigger government... the only effective cure is to reduce the scope… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
I can spend somebody else's money on somebody else. And if I spend somebody else's money on somebody else, I'm not concerned… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
How did we make the transition from using wood to using coal, from using coal to using oil, from using oil to… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The growing role that the government has played in financing and administering schooling has led not only the enormous waste of taxpayers… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
I can spend somebody else's money on somebody else. And if I spend somebody else's money on somebody else, I'm not concerned… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The great advances of civilization, whether in architecture or painting, in science or literature, in industry or agriculture, have never come from… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
I think that the Internet is going to be one of the major forces for reducing the role of government. The one… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The black market was a way of getting around government controls. It was a way of enabling the free market to work.… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
How can we keep the government we create from becoming a Frankenstein that will destroy the very freedom we establish it to… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem. — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
I believe the role that people like myself have played in the transformation of public opinion has been by persistently presenting a different point… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
To really understand something you've got to reduce it to its principles. — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
It is a mark of how far we have gone on the road to serfdom that government allocation and rationing of oil is the… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Economic freedom is an essential requisite for political freedom. By enabling people to cooperate with one another without coercion or central direction, it reduces… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
“The people in one district can choose not to reelect their member of Congress, but that will not change the composition of the government… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
When you have a time of crisis what happens depends on what ideas are floating around, and what ideas have been developed, and thought… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
The government doesn't have any money. The only power it has is to take from some and give to others. — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
What would the people who sold us goods do with the money? They'd get dollars. What would they do with the dollars? Eat them?! — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
World trade depends on differences among countries, not similarities. Different countries are in different stages of development. It is appropriate for them to have… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Is there some society you know of that doesn't run on greed? You think Russia doesn't run on greed? You think China doesn't run… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Well first of all, tell me, is there some society you know of that doesn't run on greed? You think Russia doesn't run on… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
I think almost every economist would agree that government gets itself in trouble when it tries to interfere with voluntary behavior. — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
It is most attractive about the US to people and countries with wealth is that it can provide security, insurance really, against political instability.… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
Hong Kong is the bellwether. If the Chinese stick to their agreement to let Hong Kong go its own path, then China will also… — Milton Friedman Copy Share Image
![“There is likely to be a lag between the need for action and government ["an individual's" or "a team's"] recognition of the need; a further lag between recognition of the need for action and the taking of action; and a still further lag between the action and its effects” quote by Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b51/milton-friedman-616_action_there-is-likely-to-be-a-lag-between-the_1267914.jpg)
