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PAUL RIGBY, MILTON FRIEDMAN
Cartoonist Paul Rigby has died at 82; economist Milton Friedman has died at 94. Kim Beazley sends his condolences to the families of Kinky Friedman and Eleanor Rigby.
Paul Rigby, Shmigmy, he’s not a pigmy or a Ribgy
Posted by The Young Contrarian on 2006 11 16 at 10:38 PM • permalinkOff topic, but seeing as Al Gore has been the topic of half of the posts lately, I thought this report by John Ferguson in the Herald Sun was a must read:
—————————————
LinkHilarious effort by Al Gore today when he visited Premier Steve Bracks at 1 Treasury Place.
Gore arrived in a greenhouse-friendly Toyota Prius.
Bracks was outside with his deputy John Thwaites when a cramped Gore arrived.
Bracks: ‘’Good to see you in a hybrid.’’
Gore (confused): ``Pardon me?’’
Bracks: ``A hybrid, is it?’’
Gore: ``Yes, yes it is. I’m trying to walk the walk.’’
Shortly after 11am, Gore left. This time talking the talk in a thirsty Ford Fairlane.
Should Gore have kept his hybrid?
#5 Al, thought Bracks was referring to his ManBearPig.
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2006 11 16 at 10:57 PM • permalinkKim’s been mistaking himself as a ‘leader’ of an ‘opposition’ for several years now, so maybe this shouldn’t be such a surprise.
Posted by SwinishCapitalist on 2006 11 16 at 11:37 PM • permalinkVale Milton - I disagreed with you when I was younger but, as the Good Book says, when I became a man I put away childish things…
“Free to Choose” should be compulsory reading for every High School student in Australia.
Posted by Apparatchik on 2006 11 17 at 12:10 AM • permalinkMilton Friedman. My Mother knew him.
I played bridge with him once up Sea Ranch way.
The only partner I ever had that could recognise a weak 2 signal bid, raise in a new suit to weasel out a count indicator from you, go a forcing 2 no trump to get a further explanation of possible preemptive hand (meanwhile scaring everyone, including me, spitless) and finally 3 no trump—at which point everybody just slumps in their seats and flips their cards down one after t’other in sheer resignation and awe.
Real nice guy, and knew what you meant by “short club”.
He will be missed by the wise and reviled by fools.
Posted by MentalFloss on 2006 11 17 at 01:53 AM • permalinkPaul Rigby, my most favourite cartoonist ever.
Lots of good ones but one that stands out for me: When Perth’s brothels in Roe St were closed down (late 1950s?) the question on everyone’s lips was quo vadis.
Rigby’s cartoon showed an attractive lady standing on the kerb as her cabbie closed the boot lid on her luggage, and asked her “Where to, Miss?”If ever you want to win an argument against central planning vs free markets then you only need to look at the example of Estonia, a remarkable post-USSR success story.
Another of my heroes is gone but his legacy of goodness lives on.
Posted by Jack Lacton on 2006 11 17 at 03:47 AM • permalinkOh yeah, and as a coda to #17, above, he’d lose a few quick tricks, look ‘round the table (peering over the top his glasses—you know the look), spread his cards down on the table and say gently: “I believe the rest are mine…”
Posted by MentalFloss on 2006 11 17 at 03:51 AM • permalinkGreg Ransom on PrestoPundit has a running file of obituaries and other notices on Milton Friedman.
Likewise the ABC TV news - showed their true colours by concentrating on the negative spin: restricting the money supply kills the unemployed. Had to laugh when they led with Pinochet as an example of a Friedman fan. Funny in the same way as when the Inspector Rex program has Rex open a car window by pressing the electric window button with his paw!
Credit though for the ABC radio people this morning who had grudging respect.#24 Ross
John Maynard Keynes was only 62.
Mind you, his theory about governments spending money they didn’t have did depend on the undeniable premise that in the long run we are all dead.
OK, MentalFloss, playing bridge with Milton Friedman beats ANYTHING anyone could come up with as a “brush with greatness”.
I sit in awe.
Posted by Rob Crawford on 2006 11 17 at 09:32 AM • permalinkAt Sea Ranch, Rob, such “brushes”, while not commonplace, did happen.
Posted by MentalFloss on 2006 11 17 at 04:50 PM • permalinkOh yeah, and as a coda to #17, above, he’d lose a few quick tricks, look ‘round the table (peering over the top his glasses—you know the look), spread his cards down on the table and say gently: “I believe the rest are mine…”
Come on Mentalfloss. Admit it. You got beaten by a better act is all. A good thing you weren’t playing poker. Then it would have been a case of him spreading his cards down and saying gently “I believe the Sea Ranch title deeds are mine ...”
If anyone’s interested, here’s an interview of Milton Friedman from the late 60s/early 70s. The Professor is seen to be in brilliant form; his nimble, diamond-sharp wit a joy to behold. It’s some remarkable persuasion - even powerful enough to plant a small and hardy anti-collectivist seed in the mind of the most committed, intransigent government-fancier of the Left or Right. It’s also well worth a view even if you’re comprehensively versed in the libertarian rationale. Watching a master show how it’s done is enormously instructive.
RIP Professor Friedman - without your life’s work, there would be considerably less hope in the world today.
Posted by James Waterton on 2006 11 17 at 08:10 PM • permalinkQuite right, geoff, me old china plate. In the instance descibed, however, I was “dummy”.
As to poker, well my Dad was a Kentucky hillbilly—a carpenter with a sixth grade education—and he played poker every week with CEO’s and Senators, State Coroners and Masters of Industry.
He usually won.
The only reason we’uns ever lived at Sea Ranch was because a tiny legacy from the ashes of Europe enabled us to buy a parcel of land in the first sale (early ‘60s) and my Dad had three strapping lads he’d taught his craft.
We built the house ourselves in ‘75. Mum turned 80 last month and both my older brothers are now living at home—building houses and catching fish.
By my beard, I’d join them were it not for the woman who claims to be my wife. Why she married an Yank—well I’m still puzzling that one out —since she looks down her nose at all things American (and votes Labour).
Posted by MentalFloss on 2006 11 17 at 08:36 PM • permalink“since she looks down her nose at all things American (and votes Labour)”
Tell her more stories of Milton’s successes Mental, there’s still hope. Can’t she see that Beazley is just a deflating Colonel Blimp? I assume you meant ‘Labor’?
Milt certainly ‘walked the capitalist walk’, didn’t he? Tough to mess with, but serves a name-dropper, right!
I somehow have hold of a transcript of Milton Friedman being interviewed by Robert Moore on the ABC’s Monday Conference in 1975. Questions are taken from the audience, and the highlight for me is the exchange between John Halfpenny (pinko unionist) and Friedman. It’s a bit long, but since I have gone to the trouble of OCRring it you can put up with it:
JOHN HALFPENNY: Professor, Halfpenny, Amalgamated Metalworkers Union. The first part of my question is directed towards trying to understand the way in which you relate your economic theories to your own practical way of life. You preach the gospel of less money but I understand the sponsors of your visit are charging $25 a head for attendance at the meetings to hear you. Don’t you think that that in itself is inflationary?
PROF. FRIEDMAN: Not at all. On the contrary I’m…the fact is the evidence…
JOHN HALFPENNY: I find that.. .my question is whether it’s inflationary, I think but..
PROP, FRIEDMAN: The evidence of the market is that it’s a below market price. (laughter and applause from audience) You are you really no, seriously on this point, let me just stop you. Rises in prices aren’t inflationary, they’re the consequence of inflation. You’re taking the effect for the cause. Inflation is produced by increased. .by a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output because that increases total spending; that drags up prices and it drags up wages. A higher price is not inflationary, it is a reflection of inflation.
JOHN HALFPENNY: I could suggest that that’s, with due respect, a bit of an over— simplification, but I want to dwell now on something about which I agree with you I think. There is a very popular but nevertheless false notion abroad in this nation at the present time that wage increases are the cause of inflation and of unemployment.
John Halfpenny: Now, in “Newsweek” of September,1970, I think, you wrote that it is easy, and I quote here, “It is easy to show that the widely held union wage-push theory of inflation is not correct”. You then go on to say, “What is involved is a fallacy of composition”. I wonder if you could perhaps enlighten those unenlightened people in our community who share that view where it is that they make the mistake in regard to the fallacy of composition.
PROF. FRIEDMAN: Isn’t it extraordinary that the first half of your question should be exactly contradictory with the second half? (laughter from audience). If you take the logic of the second half, which is certainly correct, union wage increases..(Interjection from John Halfpenny: inaudible) •...but union wage increases do not cause inflation, we agree, but by the same logic an increase in a particular private price doesn’t cause inflation. Now how in the world can a man with your intelligence and insight possibly juxtapose those two statements, the first of which completely contradicts the second.
But now let me go to your main point and try to meet it.To be honest, Barrie, Prof. Friedman’s credentials and “power” were unknown to me at the time.
It was his ability, not only to bid, but to bid in such a way as to elicit from his partner and opponents sufficient information as to the distribution and relative strength of all 52 cards dealt, and how best to go about making them his own that so impressed me.
It was only many years later that I realised the true stature and intellect of the man with whom I had been (at the time) simply playing bridge.
There are many people whose life’s work continue to influence events and trends long after they have passed on. Milton Friedman in one such.
Posted by MentalFloss on 2006 11 18 at 01:04 AM • permalink
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Knew Paul, did not know but admired Friedman. Condolences to families of both.