Your weekly excerpt from one of my books. This week: "The Hidden History of Neoliberalism: How Reaganism Gutted America and How to Restore Its Greatness"
We really are an uneducated and stupid society. These guys have been writing what they were going to all along in plain sight. Project 2025 merely operationalized it. The financial elite get enough people to identify with them and their point of view of freedom and their silly concepts that allow them to run roughshod over the rest of us. No healthcare, no education, a deteriorating environment and society …that is a prison not freedom.
Can trace most of the Heritage Foundation goals to Reagan's administration, where some of the architects were SCOTUS CJ John Roberts and Associate Justice Alito. Friedman served as an unofficial economic advisor to Reagan, acting as a crucial intellectual champion for "Reaganomics."
I've written several times about the failure of the Pinochet government in Chile and how my office consulted re administrative law after a democratic government was elected and overcame fascism.
Friedman was a consultant to Pinochet. Friedman's remedy for hyperinflation -- privatization, deregulation, and spending cuts— eventually caused high unemployment and extreme social inequality. Friedman was oblivious to and or complicit with a murderous dictastorship. While not involved in the coup itself, Friedman visited Chile in 1975 to give lectures and met with Pinochet to discuss economic strategy.
Policy Impact: The reforms initially led to a deep recession followed by growth, termed the "Miracle of Chile". Critics highlight this came at the expense of human rights and labor rights.
Controversy: Friedman faced protests for providing legitimacy to a brutal regime, arguing that economic liberalization would bring political freedom.
If you think about it, Firedman's Free-market notions (embraced by both parties - Reagan and Clinton especially), not only allowed more careless and ruthless exploitation of citizens, it also enabled and promoted tech nerds to become multi-billionaires by rewarding them with lax regulations, tax incentives, and big government loans and contracts. The Tesla empire sells cars that can incinerate their passengers. The entire company was funded by federal loans and tax incentives. Techbros sell AI that tells people how to commit suicide or embarrass people by putting their faces on porn movies. States do not issue building codes that discourage wood houses in an era of climate change disasters caused by promoting fo$$il fuels because wood houses are more profitable than concrete. et cetera...
We really are an uneducated and stupid society. These guys have been writing what they were going to all along in plain sight. Project 2025 merely operationalized it. The financial elite get enough people to identify with them and their point of view of freedom and their silly concepts that allow them to run roughshod over the rest of us. No healthcare, no education, a deteriorating environment and society …that is a prison not freedom.
Starting in 1980, PBS ran Friedman's "Free to Choose" series, which IMHO was prpaganda. https://www.freetochoosenetwork.org/programs/free_to_choose/. A companion book was the best selling non fiction book.
Can trace most of the Heritage Foundation goals to Reagan's administration, where some of the architects were SCOTUS CJ John Roberts and Associate Justice Alito. Friedman served as an unofficial economic advisor to Reagan, acting as a crucial intellectual champion for "Reaganomics."
I've written several times about the failure of the Pinochet government in Chile and how my office consulted re administrative law after a democratic government was elected and overcame fascism.
Friedman was a consultant to Pinochet. Friedman's remedy for hyperinflation -- privatization, deregulation, and spending cuts— eventually caused high unemployment and extreme social inequality. Friedman was oblivious to and or complicit with a murderous dictastorship. While not involved in the coup itself, Friedman visited Chile in 1975 to give lectures and met with Pinochet to discuss economic strategy.
Policy Impact: The reforms initially led to a deep recession followed by growth, termed the "Miracle of Chile". Critics highlight this came at the expense of human rights and labor rights.
Controversy: Friedman faced protests for providing legitimacy to a brutal regime, arguing that economic liberalization would bring political freedom.
Reagan was partly right: with Repugnicans in charge, government IS the problem.
If you think about it, Firedman's Free-market notions (embraced by both parties - Reagan and Clinton especially), not only allowed more careless and ruthless exploitation of citizens, it also enabled and promoted tech nerds to become multi-billionaires by rewarding them with lax regulations, tax incentives, and big government loans and contracts. The Tesla empire sells cars that can incinerate their passengers. The entire company was funded by federal loans and tax incentives. Techbros sell AI that tells people how to commit suicide or embarrass people by putting their faces on porn movies. States do not issue building codes that discourage wood houses in an era of climate change disasters caused by promoting fo$$il fuels because wood houses are more profitable than concrete. et cetera...