Pick at random any three letters from the alphabet, put them in any order, and you will have an acronym designating a federal agency we can do without.
Interpretation
Friedman critiques the redundancy of government agencies by humorously suggesting that any random three letters could represent unnecessary bureaucracy.
In this quote, Milton Friedman uses humor and irony to highlight the proliferation of federal agencies that may not serve a significant purpose. He implies that the arbitrary nature of bureaucratic designations suggests a lack of efficacy and calls into question the necessity of so many government institutions, inviting reflection on the efficiency of government operations.
In practice
Using this quote in a discussion about government efficiency in a political debate.
The economic miracle that has been the United States was not produced by socialized enterprises, by government-unon-industry cartels or by centralized economic planning. It was produced by private enterprises in a profit-and-loss system. And losses were at least as important in weeding out failures, as profits in fostering successes. Let government succor failures, and we shall be headed for stagnation and decline.
Universities exist to transmit knowledge and understanding of ideas and values to students not to provide entertainment for spectators or employment for athletes.
There is no place for government to prohibit consumers from buying products the effect of which will be to harm themselves.
There is one and only one social responsibility of business - to use it resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.
The great danger to the consumer is the monopoly -whether private or governmental. His most effective protection is free competition at home and free trade throughout the world. The consumer is protected from being exploited by one seller by the existence of another seller from whom he can buy and who is eager to sell to him. Alternative sources of supply protect the consumer far more effectively than all the Ralph Naders of the world.
The strongest argument for free enterprise is that it prevents anybody from having too much power. Whether that person is a government official, a trade union official, or a business executive. If forces them to put up or shut up. They either have to deliver the goods, produce something that people are willing to pay for, are willing to buy, or else they have to go into a different business.
Most gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess, and you don't find out til too late that he's been playing with two queens all along.
Every religion is goodβevery religion is true to him who in his good caution and conscience believes it.
There really is no such thing as a sick child; there are children who happen to be sick. Think about it, and you will understand the magic of the Camps
Neither happiness nor grief are everlasting in this life - but one of the two is everlasting in the next. Which one do you want?
Is childhood ever long enough, or a happy time, or even a beautiful summer day? All of these carry the seeds of the same fierce mystery that we call death.
Dreams are where we visit the many lands and landscapes of human possibility and discover the one where we feel at home. The great religious leaders were all dreamers.
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