Milton Friedman argued that reducing the government and lowering taxes kept inequality from rising, and helped the poor more than social programs ever could.
Hard to believe considering the Nation magazine reports the collective wealth of the bottom third of Americans is barely hovering above the poverty line. One in three Americans either lives in poverty or is one broken leg away from it. Friedman also argued as a nation of self reliant individuals, too many government regulations and social programs like those in the New Deal, led to the struggle between individualism vs. collectivism.
For decades the monopolies who make up the “collective” few have campaigned to eliminate equality of opportunity for individuals by convincing us, the public, that without steadfast devotion to the “unfettered free market”, our liberties and freedoms would disappear.
However it seems the opposite has happened. With fewer laws and less regulations, millions of Americans have become poorer and powerless against the “collective few“. With millions ending up with less economic freedoms, fewer liberties and no political influence, the inequality of wealth has become glaringly obscene, unconscionable, and downright cruel.
Adam Smith, proponent of the free market, believed rules were necessary to reign in the crookedness of human nature. Smith said, even though it’s unlikely that members of the same trade speak together, the conversation usually ends up in a conspiracy against the public.
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