Happy Milton Friedman Day!

A couple of quotes, relevant to some intense debate we've seen in blogoland.

On Education Vouchers

"I want [education] vouchers to be ... available to everyone. They should contain few or no restrictions on how they can be used. We need a system in which the government says to every parent: 'Here is a piece of paper you can use for the education purposes of your child. It will cover the full cost per student at a government school. It is worth X dollars toward the cost of educational services that you purchase from parochial schools, private for-profit schools, private nonprofit schools, or other purveyors of educational services. You may add from your own funds to the voucher if you wish and can afford to.'

...creating a Class-based society

"Empowering parents would generate a competitive education market, which would lead to a burst of innovation and improvement, as competition has done in so many other areas. There's nothing that would do so much to avoid the danger of a two-tiered society, of a class-based society ... "

On Government Waste

"Many people complain about government waste, but I welcome it. ... [W]aste brings home to the public at large the fact that government is not an efficient and effective instrument for achieving its objectives. One of the great causes for hope is a growing disillusionment with the idea that government is the all-wise, all-powerful big brother who can solve every problem that comes along."

There is a PBS Documentary on him that, in Utah should be airing on January 31st at 2:00 AM.

That's no typo. Don't forget to nap before hand, or you could use one of those new-fangled recording dealies.

Hat tip to Larry Kudlow, John Stossel, and Paul Krugman.