How To Understand Economics Better Than An MBA In Just 28 Minutes
Here is some excellent business education for the day. Much cheaper than getting an MBA.
In this talk, Milton Friedman gives an overview of free market economics, including how…
- The minimum wage law is discriminatory
- The cost of social security is born 100% by the employee
- Every social program has had the opposite of the intended effect
- Doing charity with other people’s money is flawed
Why this stuff isn’t taught in school I have no idea (I actually have a degree in economics and we never learned anything as useful as this).
If you don’t see the video click here.
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Milton Friedman's "Freedom To Choose" said,
Wrote on August 27, 2008 @ 2:17 am
[…] How To Understand Economics Better Than An MBA In Just 28 Minutes […]
Christian said,
Wrote on August 29, 2008 @ 8:43 pm
“Every social program has had the opposite of the intended effect.”
Like… roads, clean water, electricity, health research (half of which is funded by the NIH, the more important half), small farm and small business loans, environmental, energy, and work and product safety standards, or just the social safety net programs like social security, unemployment insurance, food stamps, medicare and medicaid that have saved tens of millions of lives and made most of our lives far more worth the living?
I agree that social security might be better funded by direct taxes on extreme concentrations of wealth or on negative practices like resource waste, destabilizing and unproductive speculation, criminal activity, etc. But part of the reason social security was made the way it is was so that it would be more difficult to change, since everyone felt they had “earned” it.
PS - Milton Friedman supported a “minimum income” credit that would give every person money just for being alive. Don’t know if you knew about that, very few devotees of the ideology known as “mainstream economics” seem to be aware of that fact.
[Reply]
Brian Armstrong reply on August 30, 2008 12:14 am:
Yeah, I guess I wouldn’t consider those first ones social programs. Is the last thing you mentioned the same as the “negative income tax”? I think he mentions that in video #4.
[Reply]
Christian reply on August 30, 2008 5:58 pm:
That’s interesting, what would qualify as a social program in your view then? You’re right, I just saw that now in the fourth video, yeah I don’t think any conservative politicians (or any politicians at all that I know of) are jumping on that one.
Seems to be a pretty obvious social program to me.
[Reply]
Christian said,
Wrote on August 29, 2008 @ 8:46 pm
About minimum wage the interesting thing is that labor makes up a tiny portion of most products made in very poor places, like nike shoes or designer garments, therefore mandatory increases in wages would bring just tiny increases in the end product’s cost, but it’s just enough to keep any one company from doing it without the assurance that others will follow suit.
Just so you know, in addition to crazy working hours, unhealthy workplaces, and just general abuse, the minimum wage in places like Indonesia is not enough to keep most families (even with two breadwinners) from malnourishment.
Sorry I’m bringing politics into your blog about entrepernuership, but in all fairness you started :)
[Reply]
Brian Armstrong reply on August 30, 2008 12:14 am:
Don’t worry about it, comments are always welcome :)
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