The Road to Freedom (29 page)

ABC News,
96

Aetna,
129

Africa, poverty in,
73–74

agricultural subsidies,
118
,
156–157

Akerlof, George,
127

Americans

charity and,
81–82

happiness of,
35

meritocratic fairness and,
52–53

opportunity society and,
53–56

work ethic of,
33–34

Amgen,
120

Aristotle,
52

asymmetric information,
126–128
,
129

AT&T,
119
,
120

bailouts,
18
,
38–40
,
63
,
64

Banfield, Edward,
135

banks,
31
,
38
,
39

Barnum, P.T.,
106

benefits

government employee,
19–20
,
31

Social Security,
160–161

welfare,
16
,
99

Bergh, Andreas,
108

big government

causes of,
7

choice of,
173–175

dissatisfaction with,
96

economic growth and,
108–110

expansion,
94–95
,
97–100

unemployment and,
150

Boeing,
151

Bono,
56

Bouazizi, Mohamed,
12–13

Bowling Alone
(Putnam),
136

Burke, Edmund,
137

Burkhauser, Richard,
61

Bush, George W.,
103

Camus, Albert,
31–32

capitalism

criticisms of,
45
,
68
,
76
,
78

democratic,
72

role in reducing poverty,
73–74
,
76
,
79
,
88

See also
free enterprise

Carter, Jimmy,
14

Cash for Clunkers program,
18

CBS News,
7

charity

in America,
81–83

big government and,
87–88
,
135–137

positive results of,
85–87

See also
generosity

China, free enterprise in,
73

Chrysler,
39
,
63

Clark, Gregory,
70

CNN,
140

Coase Theorem,
123–124

Coase, Ronald,
123

collectivist views,
82–84
,
174
.
See also
social democracies

communism,
14
,
73
,
80

Congressional Budget Office,
5
,
39
,
61
,
107

Consumer Protection Act,
130–131
,
144–146
,
149

consumption tax.
See
taxation

consumption, equality of,
78–79

corporate cronyism,
3
,
18
,
64
,
149

corporate taxes

high,
104–106
,
167

loopholes in,
171

reduction of,
144
,
157
,
168–169

See also
taxation

Council of Economic Advisers,
62

culture of envy,
56
,
60

culture wars,
8

Current Population Survey,
61

Daily Caller
,
84

Declaration of Independence,
10
,
25

defined benefits vs. defined contributions,
165

Democracy in America
(Tocqueville),
134–135

democratic capitalism.
See
capitalism

dependence,
15–16
,
30–31
,
39–40

discretionary spending,
156–157

dissatisfaction,
3–4
,
9–10
,
97

Dodd-Frank Act.
See
Consumer Protection Act

earned success

fairness and,
50–51

free enterprise and,
33
,
41
,
147–148
,
173–175

happiness from,
24–26
,
31

measurement of,
27–28

sacrifice and,
35–38
,
175

work ethic and,
31–35
,
55–58

Easterlin Paradox,
21

Easterlin, Richard,
21

Easterly, William,
74

Eastern artistic approach,
113–114

economic efficiency,
9
,
45
,
116
,
166

Economic Freedom Index,
74–75

economic growth

charity and,
86

declining,
108–110
,
142–143

facts regarding,
142–143

moral argument for,
141–142

opposing strategies for,
143–144

policy measures for,
144–147

in social democracies,
101

elderly.
See
senior citizens

employer contributions, to health premiums,
170–171

Employment Impact Statement,
151–152

entitlement programs

core principles,
159

facts regarding,
158–159

moral issue of,
157–158

President Johnson and,
99–100

reducing,
10
,
153–154
,
155–156

spending increases and,
101

See also
welfare states

The Entrepreneur's Guide to Finance and Business
(Rogers),
37

entrepreneurship

choice of,
173–175

economic growth from,
62

government encumbrance of,
143–144

happiness associated with,
19–20

heavy taxing of,
104–106

job creation and,
147–148

sacrifices/failures of,
36–37

envy,
18
,
56
,
60

epistemic error, of materialism,
28

equal opportunity,
58–59
.
See also
opportunity society

equal outcomes,
47–48

estate tax.
See
taxation

Europeans

charity and,
82

happiness of,
35

income redistribution and,
59–60

work attitudes,
33–34

externalities,
122–125

failure, entrepreneurship and.
See
entrepreneurship

fairness

definitions of,
47–48

income redistribution and,
51–52

moral value of,
45–47

ultimatum game,
48–50

Fannie Mae,
39

Federal Employees Health Benefits Program,
165

Federal Housing Administration,
98

federal income taxes.
See
taxation

Federal Reserve,
98

Federal Trade Commission,
98

federal workforce,
150
,
157

food aid programs,
118

food stamps,
99
,
118

The Forgotten Man
(Shlaes),
99

Fortune 500,
124

Fox News,
117

Franklin, Benjamin,
114

Freddie Mac,
39

free enterprise

aiding underprivileged,
88–89

charity and,
81–85

choice of,
173–175

conversion to,
17–18

criticisms of,
68–69
,
80–81

earned success and,
33
,
41
,
147–148

economic growth and,
77–80
,
143–144

embrace of,
96–97

evidence for success of,
72–76

features of,
6
,
33

income inequality and,
45

materialistic/moral arguments,
8–10

moral basis of,
10–12
,
14
,
18
,
64–65
,
172

undermining of,
7
,
97

See also
capitalism

freedom, moral issue of,
10–12

Friedman, Benjamin,
141–142

Friedman, Milton,
48

Fromm, Erich,
31

Gallup Poll,
19

GDP (gross domestic product)

charity linked to,
86

entitlements and,
158

federal debt relative to,
106–108
,
153

government spending and,
5
,
101–102
,
153

historical perspective,
70
,
71

Korean,
74
,
75

life expectancy and,
75–76

necessary growth of,
142–143

policy uncertainty and,
146

General Motors,
39
,
63

General Social Survey,
16
,
21–22
,
25
,
29
,
55
,
83

generosity.
See
charity

good luck.
See
luck

Good Samaritan parable,
67–68

Gorbachev, Mikhail,
14

Gordon, Robert,
61

government

aiding underprivileged and,
89

dissatisfaction with,
3–4
,
9–10
,
97

flood insurance and,
39
,
118

income redistribution and,
63
,
82–84

limiting involvement of,
137–138
,
174–175

role of,
64–65
,
115–116

safety net,
116–119
,
174

government intervention

in externalities,
122–125

in information asymmetries,
126–128
,
129

limiting charity,
87–88
,
136–137

market failure justifying,
128–132

in monopolies,
119–122
,
129

in public goods,
125–126
,
129

government spending

cuts to,
153–157

economic growth and,
108–110
,
145–146

increase in,
5–6
,
101–102

government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs),
39

Great Depression,
98–99

Great Divergence,
70–72

Great Society programs,
97
,
99–100

Greece,
6