, statistician
, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago
for more than three decades. He was a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
.
Among scholars, he is best known for his theoretical and empirical research, especially consumption
analysis, monetary
history and theory, and for his demonstration of the complexity of stabilization policy.
Friedman was an economic advisor to conservative President Ronald Reagan
.
So the question is, do corporate executives, provided they stay within the law, have responsibilities in their business activities other than to make as much money for their stockholders as possible? And my answer to that is, no they do not.
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.
One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.
There is no place for government to prohibit consumers from buying products the effect of which will be to harm themselves.
With some notable exceptions, businessmen favor free enterprise in general but are opposed to it when it comes to themselves.