After President Donald Trump imposed widespread tariffs, some of his left-wing critics began citing economists like Milton Friedman, who had a firm belief in unilateral free trade.

Friedman preferable Our trading partners refrain from imposing barriers to goods imported from the United States. He states: “We benefit from dispensing tariffs even if other countries don’t. Of course, if they reduce theirs, we don’t need them to reduce tariffs.”

If Trump succeeds in making our trading partners cut tariffs, will it be imposed at a higher percentage of American goods? Friedman served as adviser to former President Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan engaged in some kind of protectionism, aside from the rhetoric of free trade, such as imposing a “voluntary import quota” on foreign cars, primarily from Japan.

However, the good news is that the left has begun quoting Friedman in unilateral free trade. Perhaps they will begin a look into Friedman’s position on other policies such as school choice, healthcare, regulations, federal size, tax policy, and minimum wage.

Above School choice, Friedman wrote: “The government may need the lowest level of education that can be funded by providing parents with a voucher that can redeem the maximum amount per year per year if spent on ‘approved’ education services. Parents are then allowed to spend free money and freely spend additional educational services from “approved” educational institutions.

However, the Democratic National Committee’s 2025 platform opposes the use of vouchers and tax credits for education, describing them as “a scheme that will distract taxpayer-funded resources from public education.”

Regarding healthcare, former President Barack Obama said: “If I had started a system from scratch, I think the idea of ​​moving towards a single payer system makes a lot of sense. That’s the kind of system you have in most industrialized countries around the world.”

Friedman was asked in 2006, “Is there a region in the United States that was not offensive to promote property rights and free markets?” He replied: “Yes, in the field of healthcare. We have a socialist communist system that distributes healthcare. Instead of hiring and making our own doctors pay, no one pays their own medical expenses. Instead, we have a communist payment system and there is a consequence of communism.”

Regarding regulations, Friedman believed it was necessary to prevent theft, fraud and power. However, he also argued that regulations are often written by people with political powers who want to stop competition.

In Minimum wageFriedman said: “We consider the minimum wage rate as one of the most, if not the most black laws in the statutebook. The government first offers disproportionately many young black people with no education, so they don’t have the skills to get good wages. All this is in the name of helping the poor.”

Friedman offers a bit of comfort to those who claim that they are attacking the government’s ministry of efficiency, saying that “the rich don’t pay fair shares” about taxes and the size of the government. In 1967, Friedman stated: “Like many other economists, we’re opposed to the tax increase that President Lyndon Johnson recommends, but not for most reasons. We’re opposed to the tax increase because we think the federal government is already absorbing too much community resources.

Regarding government spending, Friedman argued that the government leaves in the pockets of its citizens, the better. He said that government spending is the least efficient for all spending. Finally, “You can spend someone else’s money on someone else… and I’m not worried about how much it is.

Now on the left wing that Friedman quotes in tariffs, the Nobel Prize-winning economist had one or two opinions on a few other things.

Larry Elder is the bestselling author and host of nationally syndicated radio talk shows. To learn more about Larry Elder, visit www.larryelder.com to become “Elderado.” x Follow Larry at @larryelder. To read features from other creator syndicate writers and manga artists, visit the Creator Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

Copyright 2025 Lawrence A. Elder

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