Thank You, Milton Friedman!

Originally published on Substack.

July 31st marks what would’ve been the 113th birthday of Milton Friedman—arguably the most influential person and certainly economist of the 20th century, and one of liberty’s fiercest defenders.

Though I never met him, he’s mentored me all the same—from the pages of Capitalism and Freedom and Free to Choose to his speeches on YouTube to the policy fights of today.

I first encountered his work while studying in undergrad at Texas Tech, guided by my late professor and mentor Dr. Ron Gilbert, a devoted student of Friedman’s ideas and a mentor whose passion for liberty helped shape my own. That torch still burns.

Milton Friedman wasn’t just an economist. He was a philosopher and revolutionary armed with clarity, courage, and a chalkboard.

At a time when flawed Keynesianism ruled academia and statism ruled Washington, he stood firm in defense of free markets and individual choice. And he won in many areas. Slowly, then suddenly.

Thanks to Friedman:

• We ended the military draft and embraced the power of voluntary service.
  
• We got serious about school choice, introducing the world to the idea of vouchers and competition in education.
  
• We learned the dangers of monetary manipulation, and the case for rules-based policy brought to the fore.
  
• We understood that inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon—no matter what politicians say.
  
• We rediscovered the moral and practical power of free-market capitalism—not cronyism, not central planning, but real, people-powered markets.

He won a Nobel Prize. He debated presidents. He defied the academic elite. And more than anything, he inspired millions—me included.

His voice cut through the noise, reminding us that freedom isn’t free nor from the government. That prosperity doesn’t come from printing money, spending and taxing more, or micromanaging markets—it comes from letting people make their own choices, reap their own rewards, and solve problems through peaceful exchange.

As I work today to advance sound economic policy—whether it’s eliminating property taxes, fighting tariffs, cutting government waste, or championing school choice—I know I’m walking a trail he helped blaze. And it’s an honor to carry that banner forward.

In a time when economic ignorance is being repackaged as political virtue across the political spectrum, his voice is as relevant as ever. His legacy is not a relic. It’s a rallying cry.
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Thank you, Dr. Friedman, for showing us that liberty works, that markets are moral, and that prosperity follows freedom—not force. Your ideas live on. And I hope to continue those ideas and —one day soon—see them fully realized.