Diminishing our own economic liberty

"Many manufacturers think that the government owes them a protective tariff to keep out foreign goods, resulting in artificially higher prices for consumers. Many farmers think the government owes them a crop subsidy, which raises the price of food. Organized labor thinks government should protect their jobs from non-union competition. And so on. We could even consider many college professors, who love to secure government grants to study poverty and then meet at hotels in Miami during the winter to talk about poor people. All of these - and hundreds of other similar demands on government… - represent involuntary exchanges and diminish our freedom." -- Walter Williams, "Future Prospects for Economic Liberty." Imprimis, Vol. 32, No. 9, Sep 2009: 1-5