Free to Choose Part 7: Who Protects the Consumer Featuring Milton Friedman

[dubified89]

The most logical conclusion is anarcho-capitalism.

[Everett345]

I dont see why govt cant just have it say "FDA approved" on something, and let consumers make their own minds up

[mikeroweRules12]

@Everett345 now this is a good comment

[zackhanscom]

hilarious. guy firing non existent bullets down a firing lane.

[TheManiacalSatanist6]

LMAO! As usual, Milton Friedman lays waste to a bunch of Socialists.

[jennybertrand]

Scott Berry, you watch some fucked up shit.

[jennybertrand]

Milton Friedman is a babe. Economics is cooler than Psychology. I'm switching majors.

[hokieneer17]

Damn, always cut the conversation short.

[amzinasain]

Well, I wouldn't buy a car if there was no seat belt, and I believe a lot of people believe the same. So the incentive for automakers to have seat belts on the cars is already there regardless of the regulations that are already there. Just like air bags. Automakers would lose money if they were to remove them so the incentive to put air bags into cars would be greater than to remove them.

[TheManiacalSatanist6]

@amzinasain You'd better be careful with the airbags and seat belts because those can kill you in an accident.

[Irvindzimlaz]

how come Friedman knew everything. damn this guys used to study a lot

[tynansylvester]

This is amazing. Was TV really like this before I was born? Listen to that intelligent, mature debate. It's incredible!

[KRKahn87]

@tynansylvester It's almost hard to believe.

[bsabruzzo]

If it wasn't said that those testers were real and actual people and not actors, I'd have been certain it was a comedy bit.

[TheWinepusher]

I am pro consumer.........UNLIKE U.

[serg2002]

And i Dont like the Bitch in the Green dress either...

[serg2002]

Mckenzie is the worst moderator ever...

[Jalreal]

@serg2002 yes but he has the most hilarious voice ive ever heard in my life.

[Keyguya]

I hate how they forget to mention cars naturally get safer over time. This is constantly overlooked in all sectors of government involvement.

Just think if computers were regulated to "enhance performance" in 2000s, and then processors would run 100% faster now, instead of the 200% faster which happened without the regulation. (Hypothetical)

The regulators would claim that the regulation increased processor speed by 100%, while in fact it decreased it by 100%(flat).

[brscic]

They apparently are not doing a very good job,.. how the hell did they allow MS to put out xbox 360 :)

[Illyrien]

I wish somebody would make a followup on these absurdities that Milton points out. This was 30 years ago, I would like to know how much worse it has become since then.

[jedivish]

@Illyrien Well the information is out there (Not on CNN and other such networks of course). But there is plenty of information on all 10 parts of the series. If you're interested in whats happening economicaly, Ron Paul has several Insights very similar to Miltons. G. Edward Griffin is someone else you might want to have a look at. Ken Robinsons has some extreamly good insights onto the nature and quality of education today.

[mcufre]

I choose freedom, fuck the bureaucrats.

[ElJefer]

That last point Milton made before the show entered the break 56:18 is probably the most important. Private industry regulates itself. If consumers want more safety, they can buy safer things. One counter-argument could be that people don't know what harms them. Perhaps without government intervention, people would develop a healthy amount of paranoia about what harms and what doesn't.

[jedivish]

@ElJefer : Well Miltons answered that in a lecture at Sanford University. The video for which is available on youtube. where he states that private Enterprise is required, in a free market system, to supply all the facts pertinent to the product their selling, informing the consumer that for a certain x price the product is x% more harmful. Thereby giving the consumer the freedom to choose. And should such information be deliberatly with held by the company, they may be held accountable.

[jedivish]

@ElJefer : The video in question is : Milton Friedman - Morality & Capitalism

[ElJefer]

@jedivish Thanks, I'll take a look

[jdmiller24]

@mikerowphone I would advise checking your research(ie...assumptions)

[austinbryan]

Whenever girls debate like this they come off as bitches.

[weltonjohn]

Look at me! I saved 55,00 lives last year. I feel important. I am mentally ill searching for meaning to my life. Is that what these broads are screaming? If you don't wear your seatbelt you don't care about your life!hahahaha And if you don't start caring we will ticket your ass! That will make you care.

[dtmoura]

How annoying is that woman????

Have you noticed how people favoring intervention tend to be authoritarian (and impolite) even when talking (i.e. imposing) their ideas? It is like if they lived in their own close minded world, in which they are right all the time. It is like if they were so afraid to understand the truth that such agressiveness becomes some sort of defense mechanism!

[dtmoura]

@mikerowphone - Indeed once a monopoly is set, specially in a high investment demanding sector, it is quite difficult to untangle the problem. I dont have an easy solution but I still think governments create the monopolies via bad privatization policies. If something was a monopoly when the state owned it, it will likely remain one in private hands. Companies like that should probably be broken in 2 or 3 before sold, but that is politically challenging to be explained to the voters...

[dtmoura]

@mikerowphone - But I bet the privatizations came with huge governmental incentives to the companies who bought the power suppliers, incentives which can not be found by other companies wanting to enter into the power supply business, like tax breaks or low interest financing. That is the problem. Governments are the key creators of monopolies, and not free market. Now I bet the left wing loves using such distorted argument to defend state owned companies.

[aussieconservative]

@mikerowphone Interesting we have had similar problems here but what are the specifics. where the government run power companies turning massive profits or losses. how much has your power bill gone up and how does that compare to the power bill in the past, and increases in the past. If the government run power company makes a loss are those losses paid for with taxes? If so is being taxed for your subsided electricity better than users paying?

[SFConifer]

The introductory material is thought provoking; the discussion not so much.

[Berelore]

only thing I hate about these is that every time it cuts out in the middle of the debate.

[ScionAscendant]

@Berelore Yeah, sometimes it seems like it's really getting good too.

[TechHost]

@Berelore read the book "free to choose" to get the full scoop.

[Illyrien]

That blond is frightening! I think she would go to any length to "protect" me as long as she can find the least possible evidence that it would "help".

[seppsters]

I tend to agree with the women on some aspects.

[dafunkmonster]

(cont'd) You're only allowed to buy heavy, bulky, ugly, slow, inefficient boxes filled with airbags, extra steel, too much body paneling, etc. The government has required car manufacturers to create the MOST EXPENSIVE manifestation of a "safe car" possible, because it was designed by a government regulatory committee before the automotive engineers even had a chance to start working on it.

Consumers are not stupid. Consumers, when left to do so, are fully capable of policing products themslvs

[dafunkmonster]

(cont'd) It would have none of the required safety features weighing it down, and could likely achieve 50,75, 80mpg on the highway. And on top of that, it would be safer than a "regulation" vehicle, because it would be lighter and therefore more maneuverable, and it could stop quicker. Essentially, the safest consumer car is a full-fledged racecar. The most efficient consumer car is a full-fledged racecar.

But the government won't let you buy such a car and drive it on the road.

[dafunkmonster]

(cont'd) All of the ridiculous "safety" requirements imposed on car manufacturers only drive up the cost of the car, drive up the cost of operating and maintaining the car (heavier cars are less fuel efficient), and do very little, if anything, to actually make the cars safer.

The safest cheap car you can build is a tube-frame single-seater with a rigid seat, a five point harness, and a small air-cooled motor. It weighs very little and yet has a strong frame.

[dafunkmonster]

Consider this: racecars travel much faster than consumer vehicles, and yet they have none of the so-called "safety" features that consumer vehicles are required to have. And yet, racecars are entirely safe to drive and crash. Deaths in car racing have all but disappeared, when once upon a time, car racing was the deadliest sport known to man.

[jme6141994]

I really didn't need to know that the $8 cheese fries I had at the Stadium last week were over 1300 calories. Government regulation sucks.

[TheThejoseph]

oh no there are two women debating...

[fistsofchucknorris]

You can tell the women aren't used to anyone challenging their tomfoolery!

[Illyrien]

@fistsofchucknorris

No kidding! If their self-certainty was a material, it would be used to build armoured vehicles.

[MrConservative608]

37:11 A guy is clapping at Milton Friedman's point. LOL!

Milton Friedman must have thought "Thank you" while rolling his eyes figuratively.

[superlucci]

Those women have exactly the type of mindset that got the damn Patriot Act passed.

[madscientistify]

its amazing how everytime i see something abt more regulation a woman always pops out

[WorldAsWiIl]

it really shows that friedman wasn'tt just another false politician or corporate backed talking head when he was visibly upset by the person clapping at 37:10, he actually cares about the truth, not about proving he's right.

[DreamINfiniteMoment]

BALANCE is the key to all things.

[Gold3nStat3KiD]

@DreamINfiniteMoment i agree!

[MNgeneralfinance]

This knowledge is shared by few ,but it is so important to our freedom.

[agent008t]

It is really sad that this video only has 100 views.

[dtmoura]

@agent008t - Now it has almost 5K!!! :-)

[DREwestcoast]

@agent008t in the start of 2011, this vid had only 100 views, 1 year later it has 8,419, people are slowly starting to drift back into reality, we just need committed people to promote these principles.

[sethisawesome]

@agent008t This comment is somewhat amazing. In one year, this video and Milton's Free to Choose series overall have attained thousands and thousands of views. People are really taking an interest, and that is a very encouraging thought.

[AnonymanForeverlol]

@agent008t Now 9726 on my count. Capitalism has been good to us.

[SexMahoney]

Every time Milton Friedman says market, substitute the word god, and this argument quickly reveals itself as idealistically ludicrous. Also, anecdotal is not a type of evidence.

[leakanddestroy]

@SexMahoney Yeah I guess if you change what he says then obviously it will lose its significance. What you just said is neither persuasive or evidence-based.

[cajiiiaik]

@SexMahoney The market works. Substituting god for what he says does not change that.

[MNgeneralfinance]

@SexMahoney Anecodtal? This is not an exception, ANY COUNTRY THAT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL HAS HAD PRINCIPLES OF FREE MARKETS.Go ahead and name all the non-free market great countries. I am waiting.

[Kylehintz87]

@MNgeneralfinance

USA isnt free market. Terrifs are imposed both ways. Not free at all. 

[MNgeneralfinance]

@Kylehintz87 a 100% free market is theoretical but America has been the best example.