RIP Uncle Milty
An idol of mine and the man who first got me interested in economics passed away yesterday - Milton Friedman, dead at the ripe old of age 94.
I really liked this guy, not just his brilliance in economics but also the way he carried himself - he was not an ivory tower academic type but one who could talk economics and world affairs in a very conversational and engaging way.
There’s some great videos out there like this intro by Arnold for on one of Milton’s PBS ‘Free To Choose’ series. You can see a host of other great videos of him at FreeToChoose.net.
The left loved to take cheap shots at him, of course. I remember reading an interview he did with one of those free leftist newspapers I grabbed off the stand while living in San Francisco. Milton could have easily passed on this interview, it was a nothing throw away rag, but yet he welcomed the young interivewer into his apartment for a gracious discussion. The interviewer in turn bashed him in his writeup, pointing out how he was not offered any food or snack while there and tried to tie that to the his perception of Milton’s economic philosophy of not being charitable to others, etc.
Typical but these type of run ins never seemed to bother this fellow, he just rolled on in life never losing his focus or passion. He will be missed for sure.
WoodWorking