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Frame from Milton Friedman on the free-market case for taxing pollution Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed

Milton Friedman on the free-market case for taxing pollution

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Cited on HN 3 times, 2022–2026, never outright recommended score 0
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN commenters use it to show that even the best-known free-market economist supported putting a price on pollution.

A two-minute clip from a 1979 Phil Donahue interview in which Milton Friedman makes the free-market case for taxing pollution. He treats pollution as an externality that can be given a price.

“Even Mr. Free Market himself, Milton Friedman, thought a price on pollution was a good idea” (HN, 2026)

3 citations · Interviews

3 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@olalonde Jun 2022 Cites it
on HN thread Polluted air cuts global life expectancy by two years
AFAIK, Mises.org is generally well regarded among libertarians. Libertarians generally argue that externalities should either be illegal or taxed, when there are no other practical solutions. Here's a video of Milton Friedman on the topic: [this video]
Friedman on handling externalities such as pollution.
@throw0101c Mar 2026 Cites it
on HN thread No accountability: Bills would ban liability lawsuits for climate change
Even Mr. Free Market™ himself, Milton Friedman, didn't have a problem with putting a price on pollution as it is a form of externality: * [this video] Greenspan, Volcker, Bernanke, Yellen, etc , also endorsed a price on carbon (which revenue would be refunded to people): * [link]
Friedman accepted pricing pollution as an externality.
@throw0101a Apr 2026 Cites it
on HN thread 40% of lost calories globally are from beef, needing 33 cal of feed per 1 cal
> Agreed. The market should decide if beef consumption is viable. Until The Market™, especially in the US, starts dealing with externalities (like climate change), it should not. Something like carbon pricing (per Greenspan and Volcker): * [link] * [link] Even Mr. Free Market himself, Milton Friedman, thought a price on pollution was a good idea: * [this video]
Friedman thought a price on pollution was a good idea.

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