Monday, December 22, 2008

Friedman's laisser faire



Milton Friedman on YouTube



Free markets, they make cars with names like KIA and they are sold.
Free markets are imperfect. Governmental interference is necessary.

Governmental interference is especially important nowadays in order to keep the economy running and cash flowing. The world economy comes to a halt if Governments don't support companies with works, like infrastructural works. It's like what happened in Germany in the '30 of the 20th century.

Hitler began to build the motorways, railroads and later huge war craft spending. It helped Germany. I'm not saying we need a third world war but we need Government to activate companies by for instance beginning infrastructural renewal earlier than scheduled. The same for city renewal, building new things. The Eiffel Tower boosted French economy in the 19th century. The world exhibition in Spain and Portugal in the 21st century did the same for the organizing cities. It's all public spending.

What the European Union does in new memberstates in Eastern Europe is also a kind of Governmental stimulus. What to think about Irish poverty before this country joined the EU and how it´s doing now. That island has value for the EU. First Governmental EU intevention had to stimulate companies to go Ireland.

In Holland we have a culture of mutual understanding between the social partners (Government, employers and employees). They must work together to get things done. For Instance, my country lies 5 metres below see level. Dikes keep the water out. That needs working together of the whole country, no one excluded, and that cannot be done by Friedman's -laisser faire, laissez aller- economic theory.
Also the social partners are working together in a bad economic situation to keep the negative effects (a rise in wages, extra inflation, dissatifaction of the people) as low as possible. We need mutual understanding and trust, that's called -het poldermodel-. Clinton knew it, the Dutch model, the poldermodel.

KIA means Killed In Action by the way. Would you drive a car named KIA or do you say what's in a name?
I'm sorry for those KIA and their relatives.

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