He sees the problem and offers a solution – more government spending and higher taxes. Of course he didn’t say “more government spending”, but he advocated for deployment of Obama’s programs as part of the solution. And what is that if not more government spending? Einstein’s definition of idiocy immediately comes to mind. But Friedman is a very intelligent man. If idiocy is not the answer, then how is it that repeating the cause of the problem comes to be seen as the solution?
If you have read A Conflict of Visions you know the answer. It lies in an uwavering belief in the superiority of conceptual planning over the empirical evidence of experience. Reagan came close when he simply said “Government is not the solution. Government is the problem.”
It is clear that Friedman sees government to be the solution. I wonder what he sees as the cause.
Bob B
RANDOM THOTS 