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Milton Friedman on Government

1912–2006 United States

← All quotes by Milton Friedman

17 quotes

The need for government in these respects arises because absolute freedom is impossible. However attractive anarchy may be as a philosophy, it is not feasible in a world of imperfect men.

Capitalism and Freedom (1962)

Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.

Will we read next that government control of prices has created a shortage of sand in the Sahara?

I think the government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem and very often makes the problem worse.

An Economist's Protest (1975)

There is no place for government to prohibit consumers from buying products the effect of which will be to harm themselves.

There's a smokestack on the back of every government program.

We have heard much these past few years of how the government protects the consumer. A far more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government.

An Economist's Protest: Columns in Political Economy (1966)

If a tax cut increases government revenues, you haven't cut taxes enough.

The key need in policy-setting is to reverse the growth of government!

An Economist's Protest: Columns in Political Economy (1966)

The great enemy of human freedom is the Government. By taking money out of our pockets and spending it, it destroys our freedom.

If a private enterprise is a failure, it closes down—unless it can get a government subsidy to keep it going; if a government enterprise fails, it is expanded. I challenge you to find exceptions.

I say thank God for government waste. If government is doing bad things, it's only the waste that prevents the harm from being greater.

Thank heaven that we don’t get all of the government that we are made to pay for.

If you look at the drug war from a purely economic point of view, the role of the government is to protect the drug cartel. That's literally true.

America's Drug Forum interview (1991)

They think that the cure to big government is to have bigger government... the only effective cure is to reduce the scope of government - get government out of the business.

The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem and very often makes the problem worse.

Interview with Milton Friedman”, Playboy magazine (1973)

Corruption is government intrusion into market efficiencies in the form of regulations.

Misattributed

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Milton Friedman (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.