. >> so frustrating, during this epic era we're living through, everyone wants to blame milton friedman's policies instead of realizing they're what led to prosperity and government intervention has been a huge part of the problem with fannie and freddie. >> i knew milton very well. i used to have dinner with him in san francisco once a year. the last time i had dinner with him before he died, i asked what are the three most important things to do to get the economy moving, education vouchers and number two, free trade and number three, maybe most important lin terms of our current crisis, cut government spending, don't increase it. i said, milton, how much did we cut it? he said by as much as possible. >> absolutely, right. one of the favorite things i remember when he wrote about the draft and hated the draft. thought it made labor too cheap and gave government too much ease to go to war. they needed to know the true cost of war to make the right decision. if the boys were cheap, they would more than likely end up sending them off to war. a wonderful way to bring together freedom and is

enter milton friedman. in march 1975,riedman flew from chicagoo chile to answer that queion. [man speakg chilean] [march playing] in addition to givg lectures and seminars, friedman came here the moneda palace for a meeting with the nechilean president, generaaugusto pinochet. friedmanpent 3/4 of an hour with pinochet, urging him to duce the government defic that 'd identified as the mn cause chile's sky-high inflation, then running at an annual rate of 900%. a month aftefriedman's visit, the chilean junta annound that inflation would betopped any cost. the reme cut government spendinby 27%. this problem oinflation is not of rece origin. it arises from trend towards sociism that started 40 years ago and reached their local and terrible climax in the allende regime. for tendering this adve, friedman found hself denounced for actings a consultant to a milary dictator responsible r the executions of more than,000 real and suspted communists and the torture nearly 30,000 more. chicago's role in chi's new regime consisted of more than st a visit by milton friedma since the 1950 th

milton friedman signed the book. >> we have a cake for him. >> happy birthday, milton. >> david kellyt important economist? >> maybe the second most, but very influential because he spoke eloquently and we miss his voice. >> who was number one? >> canes i think. >> no! we are going to break. i want a break. michelle is feeling faint. see you on the other side. today there's a way to save more for retirement, with annuities from fidelity. turn your savings into income -- guaranteed, and get a retirement "paycheck" for life -- guaranteed. call... to get started, and learn how to secure retirement income that won't go down -- guaranteed. call fidelity at... for details about guaranteed income for life, and change the way you think about your retirement savings. on air editor charlie joins us now with more. >> how come you get the assignments. >> i intrude him. >> several times, yeah. >> that was an amazing segment and if there is anybody who stands for free market capitalism -- >> michelle caruso cabrera. >> and milton friedman number three. i'm way down on the list. >> what's going on w

and some would advocate inflation as a way to create growth for a sample it was before milton friedman. and so it was a matter of discussion until the late 70's economies would compare the efficiency of the soviet model versus the capitalist model and some would argue the communist model was more efficient, more egalitarian because we didn't have the data. when we started adding the data, well, economics stopped being a matter of opinion and it became a scientific matter so when i say economics is a science and free market works better it's not because it is my opinion or because it is my choice. it is a fact. and i would say most of the economists' work now within this framework. the rule of economics and role of economists today is to try to define what is a good economic policy versus a bad economic policy. so economics is a way to make a distinction. and i argue that we are today in a position to make this distinction. we know what works and we know what doesn't work. of course what works doesn't work perfectly because we are human beings and as human beings we have passions and ma

basically milton friedman agree with that point of view. >> i like the idea of. and that somebody happens, a lesson we all got side, but isn't that what we're doing, the way we are printing money? >> yes, and i come back to the first point i make this morning. there is a lot of money destruction also given the situation in the financial sector and banking sector and the fed is compensating at the moment, largely compensating that money destruction. now, if the money creation and credit creation in the private sector starts reviving, i repeat myself but i think it is free essential to understand that, then the fed has to go back from has to step out of the game. and so at the moment i think honestly we in europe because we can talk about the european central bank and have been very stupid in that respect i think, you can learn a lot from mr. bernanke, we must be very thankful that we have a guy who understands this mechanism and acts accordingly. there are risks involved but not doing that then you get the great depression. sure as hell. >> now, why does the germa

wasn't it milton friedman -- >> something that is related to the cannes and it has been used by friedman, to macbook the original quote is from john maynard keynes who said that if necessary you just have to drop money from a helicopter and then people pick it up and start buying in things and the inflation will away and basically milton friedman agreed with that point of view. >> i like the idea. if that happens somebody alert us and we will all go outside. isn't that what we are doing the way we are printing money and funding everything that moves. >> i come back to the first point i made this morning. there's a lot of money destruction also given the situation in the financial sector in the banking sector and the fed is compensating at the moment largely compensating dennett mauney destruction. if the money creation, the credit provision in the sector starts reviving i repeat myself but i think it is essential to understand that then the fed has to go back, has to step out of the game and so at the moment i think honestly also we in europe because we can talk about european central ba

we need somebody who has one consuming econic idea, whether it was someo like milton friedman as -- >> as berlin argue very persuasivelythere's a al limitation on t true hedge gs, on the peoe with the one big idea. >> crlie: i never quite know what theig idea was. that's my problem >> a big idea in berlin of course is he talking about totatarian conceptualism. he thinking about comprehensivtheories of society and nature. plato with the ideal form is a hedg hog. aristotle is a fox. tolstoy is a pern who nted a hedge hog. heanted an over arching theory of history but in truth he was a foxed as expressed in his iting in something like war and peace, 's such a beautiful interweaving, many complex people and pernalities. >> chaie: exactly. ma yourshort speech to me about someon who iust enteringigh school. then we'll on to colle. and perhs graduate school. what theyought toget for thselves. >> get a rig rug foundatn. we have altered high school curricula these days in such a way tha students can escape actually gettingigorous foundati and still do very we. that's why yale insists on, you k

we need somebody who has one consuming economic idea, whether it was someone like milton friedman as -- >> as berlin argues very persuasively there's a real limitation on the true hedge hogs, on the people with the one big idea. >> charlie: i never quite know what the big idea was. that's my problem. >> a big idea in berlin of course is he talking about totalitarian conceptualism. he's thinking about comprehensive theories of society and nature. plato with the ideal form is a hedge hog. aristotle is a fox. tolstoy is a person who wanted a hedge hog. he wanted an over arching theory of history but in truth he was a foxed as expressed in his writing in something like war and peace, it's such a beautiful interweaving, many complex people and personalities. >> charlie: exactly. make your short speech to me about someone who is just entering high school. then we'll go on to college. and perhaps graduate school. what they ought to get for themselves. >> get a rig rug foundation. we have altered high school curricula these days in such a way that students can escape actually getting rigorou

milton friedman, he would have been 97 today. his birthday, coming up.

. >> milton friedman was a time member of the project. do you think it would go through?solutely. the oldest and most respected survey in california show 56% support. national polls are trending in that direction. the public is way ahead of the politicians. they are going to take a while to come around, but the public is going to drag them kicking and screaming. the current laws make no sense. >> -- >> not to my knowledge, but i don't know positively. i doubt it. without asking whether or not they would be high, still ahead, cypress semi and we have a first on cnbc. >> the house is in recess and doing the people's business, but it looks like some of them are filing in when they are all back and start grilling the secretary once again. we will take you there live and following the markets just modest moves to the downside and the dow is down about six points. today there's a way to save more for retirement, with annuities from fidelity. turn your savings into income -- guaranteed, and get a retirement "paycheck" for life -- guaranteed. call... to get started, and learn how