Milton Friedman: Wealthy people do NOT INFLUENCE POLITICIANS.

[Dawson Leery]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uBOXVEmcD4&feature=related

This is from Jamie Johnson's 2006 documentary "The One Percent"

At 5:20 Johnson asks Friedman about the influences the wealthy have on politicians and the process of making laws.
Milton at 5:30 says that they do not.
:wtf:

Milton Friedman is either a liar, delusional, or both.

[OhioChick]

1. I'd say BOTH n/t

[gateley]

2. Maybe the PEOPLE don't but their MONEY sure as fuck does! nt

[calimary]

15. And the Supreme Court said their money talks! And has rights! And has freedom!

And can keep secrets!

milton friedman obviously hates America. And he's a selfish, shortsighted, cheapskate UN-Christian, UN-American, treasonous, traitorous prick.

[PDJane]

3. milton friedman

was buried the same way he lived; with his head up his butt. The man is lionized by the greedy and the stupid, and his 'economics' left us with what we currently have.

[ironrooster]

4. if the comment is not taken out of context - it is very clearly a lie /nt

[dflprincess]

5. No they don't influence - they just flat out give the orders. n/t

[markpkessinger]

6. Oh. Well then they shouldn't mind if . . .

. . . we go to a system of public financing of all campaigns, and the abolition of private campaign contributions altogether!

[OHdem10]

7. No many of them actually write the laws.

[Cleita]

8. He believed in the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and

Santa Claus too, no doubt, or he is a liar or very delusional. He used to be considered a fringe wacko sort of like Pat Buchanan back when he first emerged on the scene. His theories have caused immeasurable damage to this country as well as others in the last three decades when the global industrial and billionaires' clubs started giving him credibility.

[L0oniX]

9. He's a lying son of a b*tch ...I hope he rots in hell.

[MichiganVote]

10. Right. They just buy them instead.

[DBoon]

11. The economic advisor to General Pinochet

HE should have been tried as a war criminal for what he helped the Chilean Junta do

[rufus dog]

13. Oh but to Milton

That was just an unfortunate biproduct. He can't be blamed don't you know.

[eridani]

12. Of course not

And I'm Marie of Roumania.

[Brigid]

14. Dear Mr. Friedman:

Are you fucking kidding me? That is all.

[Greybnk48]

16. He's dead! As are his theories; they don't work.

[Canuckistanian]

17. He should see a doctor

About that rainbow streaming out of his butt.

[upi402]

18. Free Markteer flicks "I-Don't-Give-A-Switch"

He lost the plot long ago. His wife -Adrea Mitchell on MSNBC- draw your own conclusions.

[Siouxmealso]

21. You're thinking of Allen Greenspan

[upi402]

29. true - you're right

I do remember seeing Milton do his special on PBS and was wondering, at the time, if he might be right - he won a Nobel prize after all! And that was before the neocons started ruining PBS.

Then I read Galbraith's 'The Good Society' and knew better. Those two are cut from the same cloth IMHO.

[Stevenmarc]

19. Really Milton, I belive you, but now I have to go feed the unicorn

[I Drink Water]

20. Wow, talk about delusion.

[Historic NY]

22. They buy them!!!!!!!

[Odin2005]

23. He was a big fat liar.

[somone]

24. What a lying asshole

Typical U. of Chicago RW douchebag.

[Hippo_Tron]

25. The application of his own neo-classical economic theories to politics show how it does, actually

Rational actor models for politicians are based on Friedman's rational consumer models, but in the case of politicians they are trying to make choices that will lead to them staying in office as long as possible rather than making choices about what good to purchase that will make them the happiest. The obvious conclusion one draws from these models is that politicians will trade votes for campaign cash if doing so will get them re-elected.

So unless Milton Friedman wants to argue that cash is not highly correlated with electoral success (and studies have shown that the two are in fact highly correlated), then his own logic kind of defeats him.

[socialist_n_TN]

26. Uh, both. ANYBODY can see that they buy influence..........

so denying it makes him a liar. And his belief in supply side, unregulated capitalism as a economic system makes him delusional.

[bullwinkle428]

27. Breaking news : Bears don't shit in the woods, and the Pope is a Muslin!!1!

[musette_sf]

28. Stake through heart needed

as I have no confidence that bloodsucker Friedman still won't rise from the grave.

[mmonk]

30. Let's see, the father of our current political based economy

and conservative ideology to serve corporations says the rich do not influence politicians. Is he trying to say he isn't rich?

[quaker bill]

31. Delusional fits

The problem is that the delusion has only grown stronger in his absence.

[mod mom]

32. He was WRONG about just about everything so this statement should come as no surprise.

GOP doctrine based on this man's "theories" will be the end of our country is left to continue.

[PDJane]

37. The worst of it is that his theories are now labelled

"The Washington Concensus." This lunatic fringer has become the norm in Washington and elsewhere.

[bemildred]

33. Both. nt

[HughBeaumont]

34. 2 recessions in ONE presidency.

In addition to the others in three decades. Boom-BUBBLE-CRASH! Boom-BUBBLE-CRASH! Boom-BUBBLE-CRASH!

Over . . . and over . . . and over . . . again.

Speaks VOLUMES of the success of Friedman Laissez-Fail economics, doesn't it?

[Maraya1969]

35. Here is who they are fighting for

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x889181

[fasttense]

36. He was the enabler and tool of the uber rich.

He made up the "free" market crap to justify the existence and psychopathic behavior of the uber rich. So, when he said no he was just covering for them.