Too many people see the federal government as a parent, entrusted with the responsibilities of handing out allowance and enforcing the rules. At least that was the view of Milton Friedman, the figurehead of the Chicago school of economics and the thinker who, according to the Wall Street Journal, “reshaped modern capitalism.”
According to Friedman, the expansion of the role of government in the economy progressed rapidly in the U.S. after the Great Depression. Tax dollars were increasingly allocated to areas such as education, health care, and more. That expansion was very expensive and, worse, ineffective.
In a free society (with free markets, of course), individuals can use their own resources and skills to achieve their goals. Learn more about Friedman’s influential views in our Instaread on Free to Choose.
