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About this quote

What does it mean?
Critics worry about foreign money but forget that sellers just spend it on goods.
In plain terms
Money received from trade is usually spent on products.
What can you take from it?
Trade balances out when money circulates.

Where it applies

  • international trade
  • currency debates
  • tariff arguments

Putting it to work

  • track spending
  • follow the money
  • assess demand

Questions to consider

  • What happens to the money next?
  • Does spending matter?

Another view

Sellers might save rather than spend.

More from Milton Friedman

  1. What is not forbidden in Sweden, is obligatory.

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  2. If you pay people not to work and tax them when they do, don't be surprised if you get unemployment.

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  3. We have a system that increasingly taxes work and subsidizes non-work.

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