So, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is handing out cash to his citizens (subjects?). Too bad we did not heed the advise of Milton Friedman. by Bob Smither
(libertarian)
Monday, July 14, 2008
An opportunity lost. Milton Friedman and others strongly suggested early on in Iraq that the oil industry be privatized and the revenues distributed to the Iraqi citizens - it is, after all, their oil. What might have happened if this plan had been followed? I believe that Iraq would now be one of the economic success stories of the world, with private capital available for private investment and real economic growth. We likely would have been able to withdraw years ago, since every Iraqi citizen would have had a very real economic interest in the stabilty and success of their country.
Instead we have the somewhat unseemly spectacle of the Prime Minister doling out dinars on the street. Not exactly the way to create independent minded self sufficient citizens - but a great way to buy people's political loyalty with their own money!
A recent AP story indicates that most handouts are less than $400 and many are in the $40 range. Let's see, oil revenue is estimated at $70B this year, with an Iraqi population at just under 30 million. If only 45% of the revenue were distributed to the Iraqis, each man, woman, and child would receive over $1000 - more than a third of the per capita GDP!
What happened to the United States, beacon of liberty and economic freedom? Apparently we no longer believe in such things. Even the New York Times thought this was a good idea in 2003, but the folks running the show at the time (let's see, that would have been us) did not like the idea of losing so much control.
What a lost opportunity for freedom.
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I couldn't agree more, but once we did the unconstitutional deed, we could have handled it so much better by following Friedman's advise. My only point was what a wasted opportunity to demonstrate to the world the benefits of private property rights.
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