Milton Friedman Shovels vs. Spoons

Short brief economics lesson: If this sounds like shovel ready or green jobs, I apologize in advance — It is not intended to be.

While traveling by car during one of his many overseas travels, Professor Milton Friedman spotted scores of road builders moving earth with shovels instead of modern machinery. When he asked why powerful equipment wasn’t used instead of so many laborers, his host told him it was to keep employment high in the construction industry. If they used tractors or modern road building equipment, fewer people would have jobs was his host’s logic

Then instead of shovels, why don’t you give them spoons and create even more jobs?” Friedman inquired.

OK, this is it — It was quintessential Friedman: Employment doesn’t make us wealthy — production does. Remember that, as Obama tells you to give back to worthless causes and do worthless things, like work at ‘green jobs’. How dumb are you? I think Americans are smart, in spite of their government education.

Capitalism 101 — To determine worth, offer to sell your products, the market will decide if your work is valuable — How? By people willingly working to obtain money to buy your products. This is what is missing from all the little stupid top down command and control socialist schemes from Communism on.

If you have a real job, you can give the fruits of your labor to whatever cause you want, by donating money.

It’s not the job that matters, it’s producing something of value that does. Too many ignorant people see the job as the means to the end, it is not, it is only slavery.

Free men own property, slaves work jobs.