Values Quotes – Milton Friedman on Economical

Todays quote is from Milton Friedman, the renowned American economist who won a Noble Prize in Economics.

A brilliant quote from Friedman is:
“One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.”

When it comes to understanding economics and the allocation of resources that truly produce results, Friedman knew what he was talking about.

As a differentiating value, Economical means the efficient use of resources; or frugality.

To appreciate the importance of being economical, one must first understand the law of scarcity, that all resources are limited and scarce. Big or small, this is true for governments or a family. Some call it living on a budget. Others call it being frugal. I call it being economical.

Strangely, many people associate being economical as being cheap. But that’s not it at all. The one who appreciates the value of being economical is someone who has learned how to maximize their limited resources for the greatest impact.

For instance, what could you do if you had $100? You could get a new iPhone (if you agree to a 2-year plan). You could take a family of 4 out to eat at a really nice restaurant. You could buy fruit and juice for your entire Sunday School. Or, you could use the money to start a letter-writing campaign asking for donations to raise $50,000 to build a house for the homeless, as one 10-year old kid did in San Antonia, Texas.

So, if you want to generate results that make a significant impact, maybe there’s some value to being economical.

 

Today’s value was selected from the “Pragmatism-Prudence” category, based on the e-book Developing Your Differentiating Values.