Showing posts with label Capitalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Capitalism. Show all posts

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Free to Choose 1980 - Volume 2: The Tyranny of Control


 
Topic: The Case for Free Trade

Government planning and detailed control of economic activity lessens productive innovation, and consumer choice. Good, better, best, are replaced by "approved" or "authorized." Friedman shows how "established" industries or methods, seek government protection or subsidization in their attempts to stop or limit product improvements which they don't control. Friedman visits India, Japan and U.S.

   
Internet Streaming Source  
 
Video Sharing Sites  
 
Direct Download  
 
DVD Purchase  
 
More Information  
 

Free to Choose 1980 - Volume 3: Anatomy of a Crisis


 
Topic: What caused the Great Depression, and how future depressions can be avoided

The Great Depression has been popularly viewed as a failure of capitalism. The stock market crash, the failure of the Bank of the United States, loss of personal savings, were visible symbols supporting this belief. As Friedman explains, the real cause was the unseen failure of government policy and action. Yet this crisis resulting from government failure leads to decades of government expansion.

   
Internet Streaming Source  
 
Video Sharing Sites  
 
Direct Download  
 
DVD Purchase  
 
More Information  
 

Free to Choose 1980 - Volume 7: Who Protects the Consumer?


 
Topic: Are Consumer Protection Agencies the best way to protect the consumer?

Various government agencies have been created on the claim that they will protect the consumer. These agencies restrict freedom, stifle beneficial innovation, and become agents for the industries or groups they are intended to regulate. Friedman explains how the apparent chaos of the market place, the competition of many suppliers for business, is the best protection of consumer interests.

   
Internet Streaming Source  
 
Video Sharing Sites  
 
Direct Download  
 
DVD Purchase  
 
More Information  
 

Free to Choose 1980 - Volume 8: Who Protects the Worker?


 
Topic: How government protection, minimum wage, and unions affect workers

Unions sometimes protect some workers - their members - but usually at the expense of other workers. Government protects its employees and special groups of workers at the expense of other workers. Both unions and government restrict freedom. Friedman explains how the competition of employers for the talents of workers leads to the highest wages and best working conditions.

   
Internet Streaming Source  
 
Video Sharing Sites  
 
Direct Download  
 
DVD Purchase  
 
More Information  
 

Free to Choose 1980 - Volume 9: How to Cure Inflation


 
Topic: Why Politicians Favor Inflation and How to Prevent It

Inflation results when the amount of money printed or coined increases faster than the creation of new goods and services. Money is a "token" of the wealth of a nation. If more tokens are created than new wealth, it takes more tokens to buy the same goods. Friedman explains why politicians like inflation, and why wage and price controls are not solutions to the problem. Friedman visits Japan, U.S. and Britain.

   
Internet Streaming Source  
 
Video Sharing Sites  
 
Direct Download  
 
DVD Purchase  
 
More Information  
 

Free to Choose 1980 - Volume 10: How to Stay Free


 
Topic: Limiting Government Power to Preserve Democracy and a Free Society

Democracies have only recently been considered desirable. Historically, it was feared that democracies always self destruct when citizens, forgetting that you cannot remove want and misery through legislation, insist on government actions that physically and morally bankrupt their nation. Friedman explains why the United States has so far avoided this outcome and how we can continue to do so. This program includes an interview of Dr. Friedman by Lawrence E. Spivak.

   
Internet Streaming Source  
 
Video Sharing Sites  
 
Direct Download  
 
DVD Purchase  
 
More Information  
 

Free to Choose 1990 - Volume 3: The Failure of Socialism


 
Topic: The Re-Birth of Freedom in Eastern Europe

Milton says "Everybody knows what needs to be done. The property that is now in the hands of the state, needs to be gotten into the hands of private people who can use it in accordance with their own interests and values." Eastern Europe has observed the history of free markets in the United States and wants to copy our success. Ironically, we seem unable to turn away from the temptations of socialism despite its long history of bankrupting economies. Introduced by Ronald Reagan. Discussion with Gary Becker, University of Chicago and Sam Bowles, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

   
Internet Streaming Source  
 
Video Sharing Sites  
 
Direct Download  
 
DVD Purchase  
 
More Information  
 

Free to Choose 1990 - Volume 1: The Power of the Market


 
Topic: The Power of the Market to Promote Prosperity and Freedom

Dr. Friedman states, "There is not a single person in the world who can make this pencil." He explains that the creation of even a simple object - like the "lead" pencil - requires the knowledge of many people, lumberjacks, steel manufacturers, miners, etc. These people may not speak the same language, they may not know or like one another, yet the market enables them to combine knowledge and effort to produce wealth. Introduced by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Discussion with David Brooks, Wall Street Journal and James Galbraith, University of Texas.

   
Internet Streaming Source  
 
Video Sharing Sites  
 
Direct Download  
 
DVD Purchase  
 
More Information  
 

Friday, July 18, 2008

Captain Capitalism: How to Argue Against Socialism and Defend Captialism



























From CaptainCapitalism.blogspot.com:
This speech is quite simply A MUST for all people who believe in free markets, capitalism, freedom and true progress. It comprehensively covers not just the logical and philosophical arguments for capitalism, but also provides your everyday person with the empirical data that supports capitalism. It also delves into the leftist mind with insights that help you understand where the left is coming from and how to engage them when debating with them.

Understand that this is the entire speech in its original format. It was taped professionally and will be aired on TV in the future, but this "professional version" will be an abbreviated version of it. I wanted to make sure the ENTIRE 2 hour 10 minute version was available in that there are many different aspects to this debate that need addressing and I wanted to cover them all.

It is a LONG seminar, but understand that in those short 2 hours and 10 minutes, you will be armed with an immense amount of data, as well as a strategic understanding of the psychology of the left that you will be immeasurably more capable of arguing for free markets, low taxes, freedom and liberty. More importantly I review different economic resources you can go to where by you can research and investigate on your own.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Milton Friedman Debates Naomi Klein


 
Milton Friedman Debates Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.
   
Video Sharing Sites  
 
More Information  
 

Monday, December 3, 2007

Sutherland Productions - Meet King Joe


 

This theatrical cartoon was produced to create a deeper understanding of what has made America the finest place in the world to live. Joe, who wears overalls and talks with a pseudo-Brooklyn accent, is king of the workers of the world because the machinery in his factory multiplies strength and efficiency. This is part of the American way of doing things, the narrator tells us.


About John Sutherland

John Sutherland worked as a assistant director for Disney before opening John Sutherland Productions in 1944 with the encouragement of Walt Disney. They specialized in writing and producing animation/live-action films and supportive print material during the remainder of the war years.

Soon thereafter, Sutherland began turning out animated industrial and propaganda films and was a place many animators went during periods of inactivity at the other animation studios during the 40s and 50s.

   
Video Sharing Sites  
 
   
More Information and Streaming Video  
 

Sutherland Productions - Going Places


 

This Harding College animated short defines the profit motive and dramatizes the part it has played in the economic development of America. It stresses the need for continued industrial profits if economic vitality is to endure.

The film stars Freddie Fudsie, a lazy soap maker, who just wants to go fishing. He invents bar soap, makes some money, and is about to retire in peace and quiet then the sexy female Profit Motive walks by and Freddie, who suddenly needs more money to win her affection, never sees a fishing hole again!


About John Sutherland

John Sutherland worked as a assistant director for Disney before opening John Sutherland Productions in 1944 with the encouragement of Walt Disney. They specialized in writing and producing animation/live-action films and supportive print material during the remainder of the war years.

Soon thereafter, Sutherland began turning out animated industrial and propaganda films and was a place many animators went during periods of inactivity at the other animation studios during the 40s and 50s.

   
Video Sharing Sites  
 
   
More Information and Streaming Video  
 

Sutherland Productions - Make Mine Freedom


 

This Cold War-era cartoon uses humor to tout the dangers of Communism and the benefits of Capitalism.

The film notes that America gives everyone the freedom to work at the job you love, freedom of speech and peaceful assembly, freedom to own property, security from unlawful search or seizure, the right to a speedy public trial, protection against excessive punishment and fines, the right to vote, and the right to worship God in your own way.

However, despite these freedoms problems such as tension between labor and management, and inequality do exist. Dr. Utopia introduces a magic "ism" that can cure all problems that a free society has. Unfortunately the price doctor Utopia charges is all of a persons possessions and their freedom.


About John Sutherland

John Sutherland worked as a assistant director for Disney before opening John Sutherland Productions in 1944 with the encouragement of Walt Disney. They specialized in writing and producing animation/live-action films and supportive print material during the remainder of the war years.

Soon thereafter, Sutherland began turning out animated industrial and propaganda films and was a place many animators went during periods of inactivity at the other animation studios during the 40s and 50s.

   
Video Sharing Sites  
 
   
More Information and Streaming Video  
 

Friday, September 14, 2007

ABC 20/20 - Whose Body is it Anyways? Sick in America


 


Cuban Health Care Clip
 

Most everyone agrees, America's health-care system is a mess.

Millions of Americans lack health insurance and still our annual health-care costs exceed $2 trillion — that's about the size of the entire economy of China. For the country with the world's "best" medical care, a lot of people seem unhappy.

Many hate the insurance industry.

Employers have seen insurance premiums rise 87 percent over the last seven years. General Motors now spends more on its employees' health insurance than on steel. Doctors are fed up, too; the average physician's office spends 14 percent of its income filling out paperwork.

No one seems angrier than the patients who have been denied care. Vicki Readling of North Carolina was diagnosed with breast cancer after she had quit her job and lost her employer's insurance. Readling purchased temporary insurance for herself, but when it expired she was told that because of her pre-existing condition — cancer — she would now have to pay $27,000 a year for a new policy. With an income of $60,000 and twin sons in college, she couldn't afford it.

Insurance industry spokeswoman Karen Ignani is eager to report that most people aren't like Readling. Polls show that while people dislike the insurance industry in general, 87 percent of people with health insurance are happy with their coverage. Only 3 percent of health insurance claims are denied, she says.

In his hit documentary "Sicko," Michael Moore focuses on tragic stories of people whose insurance claims have been denied. His prognosis? He calls for "the elimination of private profit-making health insurance companies" and suggests turning over all health-care spending to the government to provide "free" health care to everyone. He goes to countries like Canada and Britain and implies that their socialized systems are far better than that of the United States.

'What It Costs When It's Free'

There are many problems with health insurance, but that doesn't mean we should put the government in control. If it's decided that health care should be paid for with tax dollars, then it's up to the government to decide how that money should be spent. There's only so much money to go around, so the inevitable result is rationing.

It's just the law of supply and demand. Lowering prices increases demand. Lowering the price to nothing pushes demand through the roof. Author P.J. O'Rourke said it best: "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free."

When health care is free, governments deal with all that increased demand by limiting what's available.

The reality of "free" health care is that people wait. In the United Kingdom, one in eight patients waits more than a year for hospital treatment and the British government recently set its goal to keep wait times to less than 18 weeks — that's more than four months! In Canada, almost a million citizens are waiting for necessary surgery and more than a million Canadians can't find a regular doctor. In the small town of Norwood, Ontario, a weekly drawing is held in which a townsperson wins the right to access the town's one family doctor.

Governments ratchet down health-care costs in different ways. Doctors went on strike last year in Germany because their government's system pays them less than they thought they deserved and forces them to work thousands of hours of unpaid overtime. In the United Kingdom, one hospital was inspired to save money money by not changing sheets daily. British papers report that instead of washing the linens, nurses were told to just turn the bedsheets over.

Government is less the answer to our health-care crisis than the problem. It was our government that helped to create the absurd system in which two out of three Americans get health insurance through their employer. In a country where four in 10 Americans change their job every year, this system makes little sense; it leaves people like Readling without coverage when they need it most.
Related Stories

The government also makes insurance expensive by mandating the medical services that policies must cover. Required services vary state by state and include massage therapy, pastoral counseling, acupuncture, hair prosthesis and dentures. Such mandates are a reason why an individual policy in New Jersey costs around $4,000 a year while a policy in Iowa costs only a third of that. Yet insurance regulations make it illegal for someone in New Jersey to buy a policy from out of state.

The Way We Pay

Another problem that raises costs, and keeps individuals from controlling their own health care, is the way we pay for medical care. Out of every dollar that the United States spends on health care, only 12 cents comes out of the pocket of patients, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Most of us have our medical expenses covered by a third party, either an insurance company or the government.

When we pay for health care with someone else's money, it creates nasty incentives. It's good to be covered in case of a medical catastrophe, like a heart attack or cancer, but when patients pay for almost everything from physicals to acupuncture using third-party money, they have no reason to care about cost. Because the buyers don't care about cost, neither do the health-care providers.

"It's gotten to the point where doctors don't even know how much it costs them to provide this service or that service or how much an office visit should cost. Try asking a doctor how much an office visit costs and watch their face go blank," said Michael Cannon, director of health policy at the Cato Institute.

Our health-care system has become totally removed from the competitive market forces that have improved every other area of the economy. If patients cared about cost, health-care providers would compete to attract patients. They'd do innovative things to keep costs low while increasing quality.

Harvard Business School professor Regina Herzlinger, author of "Who Killed Health Care?", reminds people that "when Henry Ford came around, cars cost more than houses." By competing for profit, Ford revolutionized the auto industry. In eight years, he cut the price of cars in half while improving quality immensely. In nearly every sector of the economy, prices drop over time as technology improves. Not so in health care.

Customer Service, Competition, Control

Can you e-mail or call your doctor to ask quick questions? In the 21st century, when even small children regularly use computers, many doctors and hospitals don't.

"Why would they?" said Dr. David Gratzer, author of "The Cure." E-mail and telephone consultations aren't things most doctors can get paid for. Dr. John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis, said, "The federal government has a list of 7,500 procedures it will pay for — the telephone's not on the list [and] neither is e-mail."

But when patients are in control of their health-care spending, things get better. Lasik surgery isn't covered by most insurance policies, so patients pay for this high-tech procedure out of their own pocket. It's for this reason that laser surgeon Brian Bonanni gives out his cell phone number and e-mail address to all of his patients. He knows that he has to attract patients by making himself available.

Competition has also made Lasik cheaper: While in nearly every other field of medicine, prices have gone up faster than consumer prices in general, the price of Lasik has fallen by as much as 30 percent. The quality of the surgery has also improved. The difference is that people care about prices when they spend their own money, so providers compete to offer services that are faster, better and cheaper.

John Mackey, CEO of the supermarket chain Whole Foods, saw his insurance premiums rise through the roof so he changed the way his employees got health care. He proposed a health insurance plan with a high deductible. To help meet that deductible, the company puts money into a "personal wellness account" for each employee and employees use that money to pay for routine care. The money in the account belongs to the employees and puts them more in control of their health-care spending. Employees pay for the small stuff, like sore throats and sprained ankles, but their health insurance covers them in case of a catastrophe. Accounts like these are typically called HSAs, or Health Savings Accounts.

Mackey saw Whole Foods' health-care costs drop by 13 percent the first year the plan was in place. Some employees objected. They wanted the old "full-coverage" plan back. One wanted "pet bereavement services" covered. Whole Foods then held a vote and "77 percent of team members voted for the health plan that we have today," said Mackey. Today he says most of his employees love the plan because it allows them to spend the money how they want to spend it.

'You and Me'

Whole Foods' health-care costs have been creeping back up lately. Mackey says it's because there are so few people with health plans like his. Only 4.5 million people in America have Health Savings Accounts, according to a 2007 census conducted by America's Health Insurance Plans. That's a tiny fraction of the insurance market, but consumer-directed health plans are a step in the right direction toward placing individuals — not government or insurance companies — in charge of their health-care dollars.

The more people control the money they spend on their own health care, the more people shop around and the more providers compete to attract patients by lowering prices while improving quality. It's putting individuals in control that could turn our health-care sector into the vibrant, competitive marketplace that we see in nearly every other area of our economy.

After all, it's our body and our health. Shouldn't we be in control of how our health-care dollars are spent?

Harvard's Herzlinger said, "Who should decide whether you live or die? Do you want the government to decide? Do you want a health insurer to decide? Who's gonna make that decision? Is it gonna be a government? Is it gonna be an insurer? Or is it gonna be you and me?"

Putting individuals in control of our health — rather than our employers or the government — is a better way to cure what ails America's health system.

 
Video Sharing Sites  
 
   
Direct Download  
 
   
DVD  
 

Friday, August 24, 2007

Globalisation is Good


 

The world is an unequal and unjust place, in which some are born into wealth and some into hunger and misery. To explore why, in this controversial Channel Four documentary the young Swedish writer Johan Norberg takes the viewers on a journey to Taiwan, Vietnam, Kenya and Brussels to see the impact of globalisation, and the consequences of its absence. It makes the case that the problem in the world is not too much capitalism, globalisation and multinationals, but too little.

"Globalisation is good" tells a tale of two countries that were equally poor 50 years ago - Taiwan and Kenya. Today Taiwan is 20 times richer than Kenya. We meet the farmers and entrepreneurs that could develop Taiwan because it introduced a market economy and integrated into global trade. And we meet the Kenyan farmers and slum dwellers that are still desperately poor, because Kenya shut its door to globalisation. The Kenyans are suffering from regulations, corruption and the lack of property rights. The unequal distribution in the world is a result of the unequal distribution of capitalism - those who have capitalism grow rich, those who don't stay poor.

The film also explores the role of multinational corporations, especially the most criticized - Nike. In Vietnam we see that Nike's so called sweatshops give the Vietnamese better working conditions and many times the wages they would have otherwise. Instead of hurting the country, Nike contributes to rapid growth, poverty reduction and less child labour. Domestic factory owners visit Nike to get ideas on how to improve productivity and working conditions. If that is exploitation, then the problem in the world is that the poor are not sufficiently exploited.

The film concludes that we must fight for more globalisation if we want to help the poor countries. EU-protectionism is the worst obstacle today. We spend so much on agricultural protectionism that each of our 20 million cows could fly round the world once every year. The problem is not that we in the West are trying to trick poor countries into global capitalism. The problem is we are shutting them out from it. Therefore, the anti-globalisation movement is ignorant and dangerous. Far from protecting poor people the movement is inadvertently helping to keep them poor.

   
Video Sharing Sites  
 
DVD  
 
Direct Download  
 
More Information  
 

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Commanding Heights: The Battle For the World Economy


 
The history and impact of the new global economy are made clear--and compelling--in Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy. This three-part, six-hour documentary does an astonishingly thorough job of dissecting and explaining macroeconomics and their current political and social importance without ever causing a loss of consciousness for the viewer.

Part 1, The Battle of Ideas, chronicles the history of economic thought from the start of the 20th century and its socialist reforms right through the deregulation of the 1980s.

Part 2, The Agony of Reform, explores the upheavals that such deregulation caused, focusing primarily on economic growth and gains and touching briefly on the wrenching consequences for the poor.

Part 3, The New Rules of the Game, explores the consequences of globalization, including terrorism and the contagion of market collapse.

The series makes good use of both large-and small-scale examples, and features interviews with several major world leaders. Big ideas are made extremely accessible to the average viewer (without condescension). Well worth watching.
   
Internet Streaming  
 
Video Sharing Sites  
 
Direct Download  
 
DVD Purchase
 

More Info

CHAPTER LIST

EPISODE 1: THE BATTLE OF IDEAS

Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter 2: The First Era of Globalization, Keynes and Hayek
Chapter 3: Communism on the Heights
Chapter 4: A Capitalist Collapse
Chapter 5: Global Depression
Chapter 6: Worldwide War
Chapter 7: Planning the Peace
Chapter 8: Democracy and Free Markets, enter Milton Friedman
Chapter 9: Germany's Bold Move
Chapter 10: India's Way, The Science of Central Planning
Chapter 11: Chicago Against the Tide
Chapter 12: Stagflation, Richard Nixon, Price Controls
Chapter 13: A Mixed Economy Flounders, Thatcher and Hayek
Chapter 14: Deregulation Takes Off, Airlines and Sandwiches
Chapter 15: Thatcher Takes the Helm
Chapter 16: Reagan Rides In
Chapter 17: War in the South Atlantic
Chapter 18: The Heights Go Up for Sale
Chapter 19: The Battle Decided?

EPISODE 2: THE AGONY OF REFORM

Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter 2: The essence of Soviet Power, Socialism's Influence
Chapter 3: Behind the Iron Faτade, no water, no fire, no incentives
Chapter 4: India's Permit Raj, Hindustan vs. Toyota
Chapter 5: Latin American Dependencia
Chapter 6: Counterrevolution in Chile, Salvador Allende Assasinated
Chapter 7: Chicago Boys and Pinochet
Chapter 8: Heresy in the USSR
Chapter 9: Poland's Solidarity
Chapter 10: Bolivia at the Brink
Chapter 11: Shock Therapy Applied
Chapter 12: The Miracle Year in Poland
Chapter 13: Poland in Transition
Chapter 14: Gorbachev Tries China
Chapter 15: Soviet Free Fall
Chapter 16: Reform Goes Awry
Chapter 17: India Escapes Collapse
Chapter 18: Russia Tries to Privatize
Chapter 19: Loans For Shares
Chapter 20: Closing the Deal
Chapter 21: A Decade of Radical Change

EPISODE 3: THE NEW RULES OF THE GAME

Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter 2: The Global Idea
Chapter 3: NAFTA: The First Test
Chapter 4: Crossing Borders, Mexico
Chapter 5: The Global Market
Chapter 6: Emerging Market Hunters
Chapter 7: Averting a Meltdown: 1994
Chapter 8: The Global Village
Chapter 9: China and the Tigers
Chapter 10: The Japanese Paradox
Chapter 11: Global Contagion Begins
Chapter 12: Contagion Engulfs Asia, Indonesia Implodes
Chapter 13: Russia Defaults
Chapter 14: The Crisis Reaches America, LTCM
Chapter 15: Anti-Globalization Movement
Chapter 16: The Streets of Seattle, Free-trade Double Standard
Chapter 17: Failure at the Summit, The World Bank Under Attack
Chapter 18: The Global Divide, Poverty
Chapter 19: Capitalism Redefined
Chapter 20: The Bottom End of Globalism
Chapter 21: Changing of the Guard
Chapter 22: The Battle Resumed, Quebec City 2001, Protests
Chapter 23: After 9/11


CAST

BILL CLINTON, President of the United States of America, 1993-2001
VICENTE FOX, President of Mexico
RICHARD CHENEY, Vice President of the United States of America
JEFFREY SACHS, Director, Columbia University Earth Institute
MILTON FRIEDMAN, Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago
GEORGE SHULTZ, U.S. Secretary of State, 1982-1989
LARRY LINDSEY, Assistant to the U.S. President for Economic Policy, 2001-2002
LAWRENCE SUMMERS, President of Harvard University; U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, 1999-2001
ROBERT RUBIN, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, 1995-1999
PAUL VOLCKER, Chairman, Federal Reserve Board, 1979-1987
HERNANDO DE SOTO, Economist; Founder and Director, Institute for Liberty and Democracy, Peru
RICHARD GEPHARDT, Democratic Leader, U.S. House of Representatives, 1989-2002
NEWT GINGRICH, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1995-1999
MARK MOBIUS, President, Templeton Emerging Markets
MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, General Secretary, Communist Party, USSR, 1985-1991
ANATOLY CHUBAIS, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, 1994-1996
VLADIMIR POTANIN, President, Interros Holding Company
GRIGORY YAVLINSKY, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, 1990
YEGOR GAIDAR, Acting Prime Minister of Russia, 1992
LEE KUAN YEW, Senior Minister of Singapore
DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD, Prime Minister of Malaysia
GONZALO SANCHEZ DE LOZADA, President of Bolivia, 1993-1997, 2002-2003
MANMOHAN SINGH, Finance Minister of India, 1991-1996
THEA LEE, Assistant Director for International Economics, AFL-CIO
LORD KENNETH BAKER, Conservative Party Minister of British Parliament, 1981-1992
LESZEK BALCEROWICZ, Deputy Prime Minister of Finance of Poland, 1989-1991
TONY BENN, Labor Party Minister of British Parliament, 1950-2001
GORDON BROWN, Labor Party Finance Minister (Chancellor of the Exchequer)
KEN CAPSTICK, Former Chairman, Yorkshire National Union of Mineworkers
JORGE CASTANEDA, Foreign Minister of Mexico, 2001-2003
JON CORZINE, First Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, 1994-2001
ALEJANDRO FOXLEY, Finance Minister of Chile, 1990-1994
JOSEPH STIGLITZ, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, The World Bank,1997-2000
LECH WALESA, President of Poland, 1990-1995
et al.
 

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Free to Choose 1980 - Volume 1: The Power of the Market


 
Topic: The power of the market to organize information in a way that maximizes prosperity

America's freedom and prosperity derive from the combination of the idea of human liberty in America's Declaration of Independence with the idea of economic freedom in Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. Friedman explains how markets and voluntary exchange organize activity and enable people to improve their lives. He also explains the price system. Friedman visits Hong Kong, U.S. and Scotland.

   
Internet Streaming Source  
 
Video Sharing Sites  
 
Direct Download  
 
DVD Purchase  
 
More Information  
 

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Make Mine Freedom


 
This Cold War-era cartoon uses humor to tout the dangers of Communism and the benefits of capitalism.
   
Video Sharing Sites  
 
   
More Information and Streaming Video  
 

Sunday, July 29, 2007

ABC 20/20 - Greed


 

 

 

John Stossel openly questions greed as a motivation. Are we all greedy? How much is enough? In search for answers, Stossel discovers that in order to get money from people, you generally have to provide value in return. He also examines how the profit motive has spurred accomplishments. A provocative introduction to key economic concepts.
 

More Information  
 
Video Sharing Sites  
 
Direct Download  
 
DVD Purchase  
 

Thursday, July 19, 2007

The Cure: How Capitalism Can Save American Health Care


 
We have a socialist-communist system of distributing medical care. Instead of letting people hire their own physicians and pay them, no one pays his or her own medical bills. Instead, there's a third party payment system. It is a communist system and it has a communist result.

Despite this, we've had numerous miracles in medical science. From the discovery of penicillin, to new surgical techniques, to MRIs and CAT scans, the last 30 or 40 years have been a period of miraculous change in medical science.

On the other hand, we've seen costs skyrocket. Nobody is happy: physicians don't like it, patients don't like it. Why? Because none of them are responsible for themselves. You no longer have a situation in which a patient chooses a physician, receives a service, gets charged, and pays for it. There is no direct relation between the patient and the physician. The physician is an employee of an insurance company or an employee of the government. Today, a third party pays the bills. As a result, no one who visits the doctor asks what the charge is going to be—somebody else is going to take care of that. The end result is third party payment and, worst of all, third party treatment."
        - MILTON FRIEDMAN

Some of the nation's top health policy experts gathered in Albany on Sept. 26, 2006 to share ideas on how to curb health care expenses, improve health care services and expand access to health insurance in New York State. Featured topics included innovative Medicaid reforms in Florida and Kentucky, the Massachusetts health insurance reform plan, the pitfalls of a Canada-style universal health plan, and the potential benefits of expanding consumer health care choices.

In this presentation, keynoter David Gratzer, MD Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute Center for Medical Progress and author of "The Cure: How Capitalism Can Save American Health Care" discusses solutions to the ills of the Canadian and American Health Care Systems.
 

Internet Streaming Source  
 
Video Sharing Sites  
 
Direct Download