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Milton Friedman on Capitalism and socialism

Airlines have had no difficulty in acquiring the planes and personnel to handle the increased traffic produced by deregulation. What has been the bottleneck? Airports. Why? Because they are government owned and operated.
We Have Socialism, Q.E.D.
Column, 1989, The New York Times, December 31, 1989, Section 4, p. 11
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  1. Jarvis-Gann has many defects. It is loosely drawn. It cuts only the property tax, which is by no means the worst tax. It does nothing to halt the unlegislated rise in taxes produced by inflation. Proposition 1 was a far better measure, and a revised version will be needed even if Jarvis-Gann is passed. Yet I strongly support Jarvis-Gann. It does cut taxes. It does raise obstacles to further increases in government spending. And it will not have the dire consequences its opponents threaten.
    A Progress Report
    Column, 1978, Newsweek (April 10, 1978); reprinted in the Congressional Record, Extensions of Remarks, April 4, 1978, pp. 8709 to 8710, introduced by Representative John H. Rousselot of California, who describes it as “his byline article which appeared in the April 10, 1978 issue of Newsweek”, Congressional Record, April 4, 1978, pp. 8709 to 8710
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  2. Spending by government currently amounts to about 45 percent of national income. By that test, government owns 45 percent of the means of production that produce the national income. The U.S. is now 45 percent socialist.
    We Have Socialism, Q.E.D.
    Column, 1989, The New York Times, December 31, 1989, Section 4, p. 11
    Checked against the sourceRead the transcript
  3. The Fed’s repeated failure to achieve its own targets has produced an impression that it cannot do so, that it is a helpless giant buffeted by events over which it has no control. That impression is false. The Fed’s failure does not reflect a lack of means. It reflects the Fed’s tardiness in adjusting its operating procedures to the change in its announced objectives.
    Improving Monetary Policy
    Column, 1980, Newsweek, July 28, 1980; reprinted in the Congressional Record, Extensions of Remarks, July 28, 1980, p. 20026, introduced by Representative Robert Dornan of California, who gives the column as appearing in the Newsweek issue “dated July 28, 1980”, Congressional Record, July 28, 1980, p. 20026
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