Milton Friedman

Those of us who write commentary about events in the news sometimes give the impression that we have all the answers. In fact, pundits seem to thrive by affecting utter assurance that they are always right. They bring to mind what a colleague once...

By Nicholas Wapshott June 2 (Reuters) - Whisper it abroad: The U.S. economy is on the mend. Most recent indicators suggest that, five years after the start of the Great Recession, the "L-shaped" recovery is finally heading north. The stock market is...

One of the most vexing issues to economists is how poorly most people understand international trade. Among economists of all stripes, there is no more fully recognized truth than the benefits of trade. From Milton Friedman to Paul Krugman, and everyone...

At an investment conference last week, Harvard historian Niall Ferguson created a huge mess for himself. He glibly speculated that maybe because economist John Maynard Keynes was a childless, "effete" homosexual, he embraced a doctrine that favored...

As you know, Margaret Thatcher died April 8 at the age of 87 after serving as Britain's prime minister from 1979 until 1990. We owe her a debt for at least two reasons, one of them principled, the other cautionary. First and foremost, Thatcher took...

What kind of person do we have? This question is raised when someone is asking another person to seriously judge the conduct of an acquaintance who has stepped over the line of propriety or failed to carry out a duty. The delinquent is assumed to...

WASHINGTON -- She had the eyes of Caligula and the lips of Marilyn Monroe. So said Francois Mitterrand, the last serious socialist to lead a major European nation, speaking of Margaret Thatcher, who helped bury socialism as a doctrine of governance....

Complaints are rising in a crescendo over a recommendation by a government advisory panel that Florida implement a transportation tax based on the miles a person drives. A rate of 2 cents a mile has been prescribed. For many, the idea represents another...

WASHINGTON -- She had the eyes of Caligula and the lips of Marilyn Monroe. So said Francois Mitterrand, the last serious socialist to lead a major European nation, speaking of Margaret Thatcher, who helped bury socialism as a doctrine of governance. She...

"At CPAC, the Future Looks Libertarian," read a dispatch on Time magazine's website. "CPAC: Rand Paul's Big Moment," proclaimed The Week magazine. Meanwhile, The New York Times headlined its story about the annual conservative political action...

"At CPAC, the Future Looks Libertarian," read a dispatch on Time magazine's website. "CPAC: Rand Paul's Big Moment," proclaimed the Week magazine. Meanwhile, the New York Times headlined its story about the annual conservative political action...

People in our country mostly seem to possess an innate faith in government. Probably that has evolved because, while our governments generally are unnecessarily expensive, wasteful and intrusive, they have not been overtly corrupt like so many others...