Thursday, November 16, 2006

R.I.P Milton Friedman

Nobel-prize winning economist and influential Libertarian Milton Friedman has passed away from heart failure at the age of 94. 

Friedman died in San Francisco, said Robert Fanger, a spokesman for the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation in Indianapolis. He did not know the cause of death.

Source: FOXNews.com - Nobel-Prize Winning Economist Milton Friedman Dies at 94

Milton Friedman is a hero to most Libertarians, myself included, he held that the government's role in the guidance of the economy should be severely restricted and promoted many other key libertarian ideas.  A little known fact about Friedman was that he did not consider his economic work to be his greatest achievement. He felt it was his contribution towards ending the draft in the 70s. I would be proud of that accomplishment too.

I spent a great many long and frustrating hours learning about Friedman and his economic policies in Graduate School. He gave me headaches and a new appreciation for the power of economics, and the futility of my desire to understand it.

R.I.P. Milton Friedman