Helping the Economy

The name of Milton Friedman is probably heard more today than when he was alive.

The New York Times called him the godfather of the credo that “prosperity springs from markets free of all government management.”  The investment banker Myron Gushlak captures the essence of Friedman when he paraphrases, “If the government ran the Sahara desert, we’d run out of sand in five years.”  In these days of public clamoring for government intervention into the economy, Friedman stands alone, metaphorically, of course; he died in 2006. His principles, once embraced by Ronald Reagan, have fallen into disfavor.

            The wonderful novel, White Man’s Grave, comes to mind every time I hear someone stand and call for intervention into the free market system. With apologies to the author, Richard Dooling, part of that novel is about a corporate lawyer who in gratitude to an African village for helping to locate his missing Peace Corps son, sends over tons of grain (I think it was rice, but I don’t remember) to help feed the starving inhabitants. Half of the “gift” went immediately to corrupt village officials. The remainder caused a flood in the grain market, dropping the price precipitously, and resulted in the bankruptcy of the few legitimate farmers in the area. The lawyer, back home in Chicago and unaware of the negative consequences of his generosity, was smugly self congratulatory with his largesse.

            Whether or not to help is a fundamental human dilemma. When your child falls, should you help him up or let him struggle to his feet on his own? The economy has fallen. I watch it struggling, unsure of what might be the best thing to do. I wish I had a little more faith that our leaders had a better idea than I.  

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