Milton Friedman: Spending National Income
on Friday, June 24, 2016Milton Friedman Money Quote saying government spending is not accountable because few care how much is spent once allocated. Milton Friedman said:
“If I spend somebody else’s money on somebody else, I’m not concerned about how much it is, and I’m not concerned about what I get. And that’s government. And that’s close to 40% of our national income” — Milton Friedman
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Milton Friedman is criticizing how government spending tends to be less restrained compared to individual spending. He argues that since the government spends money taken from taxpayers, there is less incentive to minimize costs or carefully consider the value of programs, unlike individuals spending their own funds.
Friedman notes that around 40% of the national income at that time was being spent by the government, much of it coming from taxes rather than the government’s own revenue.
His point is that when the government spends such a large portion of the economy’s resources, there will likely be inefficiencies and waste since it is spending “somebody else’s money” rather than carefully managing its own budget.
Birthday: July 31, 1912 Death: November 16, 2006