Honoring Economist Milton Friedman

When Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman died last November at age 94, tributes came from all over the world. Friedman, who spent a large part of his career at the University of Chicago, demonstrated convincingly that governments cannot be successful at running economies, and that economic decisions are best left to free markets.

One of Friedman's distinguishing qualities was intellectual bravery. He spoke up when few would contradict the "common wisdom" that developed after the Great Depression -- the belief that government could guide the economy to prosperity through its tax and spending policies.

Friedman believed that only the free-market interchange of goods and services at prices set by informed buyers and sellers could bring economic growth and prosperity. ...