PAY IT BACKWARDS: The Federal Budget Surplus with Milton Friedman

(Filmed circa 2001.) Milton Friedman discusses what should be done with the federal budget surplus? Does it make sense to spend the surplus on new government programs? What benefits the economy more, cutting taxes or paying down the national debt? Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman offers his advice.

[@grass.dihenia2590]

We all know Milton Friedman is amazing. Peter Robinson is also an incredible journalist.

[@Kane-ib5sn]

there was a time, when wisemen walked the Earth...

[@arex20]

This video makes me so depressed. Milton Friedman is sorely missed. Instead, we have this clown Krugman jumping around and screaming that the Obama stimulus was not big enough. Sigh.

[@LunHaolai]

His prediction is damn right!

[@bighands69]

Or it should be given back to the people in further tax cuts to grow the economy further. Both Kennedy and Reagan cut taxes and the economy went into growth.

[@masterpalladin]

the wealthy tax em at 50-90% cut taxes on the middle and lower middle class....like Eisenhower did a 90% percent corporate tax and he was a rebublican

[@matterantimatter5179]

@@masterpalladin They don't make them like Ike anymore. In his farewell address to the nation he made mention of America's wealth and what it could be used for, and it wasn't tax cuts.

[@jmjfanss]

Kennedy also tried to get rid of the cia and the federal reserve and he got killed.

[@jamesscholl300]

didn't u hear what he said? Don't cut taxes to grow the economy

[@donald_the_savage1234]

masterpalladin they didn’t actually pay the full 90%. The effective tax rate on the 1% during the 1950’s was 16.9%. Even if you include all forms of taxation, taxes on the 1% have gone down by 5.6%.

[@Maverickbillion]

Listen to the man so u can learn something.

[@buddyjenkins7188]

I would love to hear Milton Friedman's view on how Trump is running the Government.

[@franciscotoro9454]

I don't know what kind of accounting governments use, but in my budget, if I have debt, it is not possible to have a surplus. Surplus means you take more money than you spend. That works under two possible scenarios: 1- you are debt free. 2- you have debt but choose not to pay it down. Perhaps I missed the lecture on how to have a third possibility...

[@thedelta88]

wow Peter. I've watched many of your new shows and I gotta say your intro has come a long way :) love the show keep it up :

[@mkram2154]

Political Economic 101: A political gridlock creates surplus and debts gets eradicated. Mr President Donald Trump, keep the government shut until you run re-election. Democrats, keep the House and Republicans will keep the Senate.

[@LeoWhalen1933]

Thats what the founders had in mind. They didnt want intervention!

[@esilja21]

2m3s Our Cup Runneth Over (+income=++taxes) 4m26s Money to Burn (what to do with budget surplus) - 6m7s Economy is 50% socialist - 7m16s On economic grounds Gov't spending is adverse to productivity 9m15s Debt Relief (paying off the debt) - 12m30s Great Depression changed people's views/attitudes of gov't

[@winmine0327]

20:16 Peter Robinson is so adorable!

[@vipero00]

I swear, Peter Robinson is just like Dick Clark, he never ages. ;-)

[@j.d.salinger3709]

vipero00 I know. He fits his job well as an interviewer.

[@esilja21]

13m54s De-tax-ification (-taxes=+consumption, -debt=+investment) 16m41s He's Got to Have It (Bush's Plan for the surplus) - 17m49s Keynsian wouldn't cut taxes, cutting taxes won't stimulate the economy, what matters is monetary policy not fiscal policy 21m09s Spend and Deliver (economists have a hard time predicting recessions)

[@antonkokic]

milton de vito :P

[@ThePeterDislikeShow]

I was in 8th grade!!

[@YuvalRishuSanders]

I love the cutaway at 4:26 when Friedman starts predicting the Bush era deficit :-) Oh, Hoover Institution, you loveable propagandists you. I'm looking forward to seeing if you approve this comment.

[@CraigCastanet]

Ooooooh. Delicious gridlock.

[@Lurker1979]

Look how young Tony Robbins is! :)

[@rgnko7]

2012 is here time to retire x.x

[@VictorMartinez-zf6dt]

They should have paid the debts

[@CraigCastanet]

Did he want a balanced budget amendment?

[@davidzimmerman7711]

How about we pay Social Security back what is owed and protect our older Americans? All so at the same time go after fraud in the system.

[@Cambria399]

The right says the surplus is made of internal borrowing from other gov holdings, aka social security. was it real or fake?

[@P0RKINS2]

Cambria399 Most of it was a fiction b/c Clinton counted the Social Security proceeds from the Pay Roll Tax twice.

[@PoliticalWeekly]

They Just did

[@crazieeez]

Opportunity cost of money.

[@Onanation]

xD you didn't watch to the end did you?

[@jean-pierredevent970]

He doesn't believe the government can stimulate the economy but consumers can? But the government is a consumer too? And if it creates low wage jobs, those people will spend it all on consumption and stimulate the local economy?? But the weak point is that the government took at first that money from the people who would have spend it "directly" better. (not on useless war) That sounds reasonable although only for lower classes since for the very rich a few percent tax rate doesn't make much difference in their consumption.

[@josephbacon7493]

I agree with all of this but my question is if China is the most extreme case of a socialist economy today why does their economy perform in the first place. The means of production is truly owned by the CCP

[@TheScabbleGabble]

Bubble. What else?

[@bobdux]

What to do with a government budget surplus? Probably the only useless advice Milton Friedman ever gave. Still, thanks for uploading!

[@joeyblow6283]

17:37 Trump did exactly this!!!

[@steved2667]

Federal deficits = natural and normal. Absolutely. The federal government CAN run enormous deficits every year - and it can do it forever. Not only that, but federal deficit spending adds dollars to the economy and grows the economy.

[@kharnakcrux2650]

well, he's not right about everything. he does have a very old fashioned way of seeing things. he gives too much credit to the rationality of an informed public and informed consumers, and the good will and generosity of the investor class. which we definitely DO NOT have.

[@kingofmaiars]

How are you so sure? You are opposed to people spending their own money? Spoken like a true thief.

[@crazieeez]

"he gives too much credit to the rationality of an informed public" ... there is no inform public on how people spend their hard earned money. If people choose to use their hard earned money to buy alcohol even though alcohol is bad. Informed public does not make good decision for the economy. A wealthy public makes good decision for the economy. When people have more money, they have more to spend inducing more production. It does not matter what they buy, only matter is the money they earn, they get to buy what they want and need. The first half of the United States saw more economic growth than the latter half. It wasn't that our innovations somehow become exponentially better and more. It was the lower tax that promotes more consumption.

[@Ceedee824]

Lol the good ol days when we had budget surpluses. now our debt levels are to total GDP smh . Seems that when Democrats are in the WH budget and economy is fine, but when a Republican is in there, a recession happens. Goes all the way back to Bush senior.

[@telescopicS627]

Milton Friedman on how to blow a surplus and lead the country into bankruptcy. BWUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!