Milton Friedman on Free Trade

Milton Friedman urges America to maintain her role as leader of The Free World, by embracing Free Trade.

[WHATISUTUBE]

I study economics; I know what a trade deficit is. I'm saying that there's more to it than merely hoarding for hoarding's sake. People don't want a favorable balance of trade because they care about paper money. It's ultimately useless since it isn't backed by anything. It's the jobs behind it that politicians and the common man care about. It's indicative or a trend. I don't feel like this conversation will ever end, so I'll ask: your main point is that money is a commodity, right;nothing more?

[WHATISUTUBE]

Yeah, that was it. Thanks for digging up the quote. I explained what a trade deficit was. What aspect of that do you disagree with again?

[governmentdidit]

You seem to know a great deal about economics what are you favorite books?
My favorite books on the subject are
-Human Action
-Boundaries of Order
-Man, Economy and State
What are yours?

[WHATISUTUBE]

overproduction is a natural process as the demand for a product goes up, as does its price. Without overproduction there would be no sign that the limit where supply meets demand has been reached. It's all individual actors that are discouraged as the price goes down of the product, there is no overarching body deciding how much is enough. It's akin to a blind man pouring water into a bucket, with the bucket at his feet. He can tell he's put too much water when it starts to spill over.

[WHATISUTUBE]

Same to you: you make a good comedy. I'd love to catch one of your shows.

[WHATISUTUBE]

And yes, gift economies have never had to because such an 'economy' is inefficient. I again go to rational choice: if gift economies were the best form of social organization then they would have been the dominant form of organization, which amounts to nothing more than a free society in terms of prices. Family and helping the needy is one thing, they are circumstantial events.

[WHATISUTUBE]

Well, obviously people would take the pension. Volunteer work doesn't pay; it doesn't put food on the table. As much as I'd love to help the homeless 24/7, I need to eat. And have a home to live in. As for money as a commodity, again, I understand where you're coming from, and are correct to an extent. But you can't possibly say it doesn't work as a trade medium. It is. First and foremost, at least. Honestly, it's not up to debate; it's an agreed upon item that has value and is accepted by selrs

[WHATISUTUBE]

And what is work that matters? Who decides? People decide, through their own goals of self-enrichment. Because ultimately what matters is the well being of the individual. Are you telling me your well being and your own safety and life aren't your top priority? Would you be willing to give me all of your money to make me better off? Tell me what work is work that matters; in the grand scheme of things if the public feels that product A will make them better off than a company will invest in that

[WHATISUTUBE]

But my main point was that even IF a society did away with currency, WHAT purpose would it serve? I mean, honestly; not only would you have to look for someone that wants EXACTLY what you're trading, and has EXACTLY what you want, but a society tends to regress to a particular source of account and currency ANYWAY. You don't need to take my word for it: look to any society in history. They naturally created currencies; it has never been an instrument forced out of thin air.

[WHATISUTUBE]

you're well within your rights to choose whichever candidate you wish to vote for. They simply need to get on the ballot, which is the harder part. But this has more to do with Democracies rather than historical record.

[WHATISUTUBE]

I believe that smart phones have made people better off; and companies have responded to the public's demand for products that people want to purchase. The public at large is interested in themselves, so they purchase things that they feel are essential. Corporations hire people that have the skills to produce things that the public has decided matters. Your argument isnt against capitalism, but against what the public believes matters. Take it up with them.

[WHATISUTUBE]

A little more to the point: I grew up in East NY; where more than half of the people live below the poverty line. Trust me, a lot of people pretty much deserve to be there since they have absolutely no skills or motivations to even acquire those skills, and would be low on the social ladder with or without capitalism anyway. I was never impeded from going to college; and by your logic, I should have been. Likewise, all the rich in the world aren't brilliant geniuses. Paris Hilton, etc.

[WHATISUTUBE]

Lastly, public schools aren't free. If you want me to elaborate, they're free in that the individual doesn't have to directly pay into it as opposed to private schools, whereby there is a direct transaction. They're 'free' in that you pay for them through taxation...or not. The very poor pay no taxes.

[WHATISUTUBE]

As for gift economies: I'm saying, examples of mass social organization. If it were truly better then it would be the most logical choice. I'm a proponent of Rational Choice theory; people do what is in their best interest and is most rational to increase their output. If A is truly better than B then A would obviously be followed. Gift economies only work with small, tightly knit groups. It's all dependent on familiarity. It's not really a form of economic organization, it's pseudo.

[WHATISUTUBE]

I wouldn't call it a commodity in practice. Currencies can be exchanged and traded in the foreign exchange market, but there is ACTUAL commodity currency. Without it being used as the source of exchange, its absolutely worthless. The Salvadorian colon is useless now. Well, actually, maybe there are some collectors...and the metal that it was made of might be worth something. My point is that by definition it isn't a commodity as it is useless if the US were to change over to another currency.

[WHATISUTUBE]

To be fair; Warren Buffet is merely one man. You can't say its indicative of a larger trend. He's somewhat left-leaning anyway, so we have to take that into account. And while I can understand where you're coming from and see the logic behind it, I'm saying that money is worthless as it isn't backed by anything. It's what you can do with it that matters.

[WHATISUTUBE]

Lastly: I don't understand what part of my argument is proclaiming that money isn't good. I just told you the resources that are purchased matter, while you're telling me that money itself matters. If you believe the resources are what should be traded, then that is impractical. Again, if I want a TV and have 10 skateboards to sell, I have to find someone that has exactly what I want for exactly what I have at exactly the quantity that is most convenient. It's terribly inefficient.

[WHATISUTUBE]

as an example: an entire niche in society has decided that ''organic'' food matters, and corporations have responded to that by producing such products. Some people think it isn't enough, and want food that is even more local, so there's another niche of small producers selling their wares.

[WHATISUTUBE]

Secondly, I never said Egypt had a gift economy, I said it's the fairest society of all due to your belief that currency=inequality. I never said, claimed, or implied that it was a gift economy. I said early in its history it was a barter economy, or do you believe trading grain for livestock isn't bartering? Wikipedia is free, you know. Look up 'barter economy'

[WHATISUTUBE]

You seem to believe that without cash, there will no longer be classes. Which is foolish; classes aren't only comprised of wealth. Furthermore, even if you got rid of a standard of currency, classes would still exist based on the ACTUAL resources the currency got you to begin with! It's never been an impediment to consumption and development; without currency as a medium of exchange the only thing there will be is taking of property of goods by force. All you're doing is creating anarchy.