What should government do? i am tempted to write: "As little as possible." But this is not true. There are times when government should do a lot in certain areas-but these areas are few. I used to say to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher: "There are three things a government must handle, for no one else can: external defense, internal order and maintaining an honest currency'' She was impressed by this dictum, to the point that she opened her capacious handbag, took out her pen-along with the notebook she kept for such purposes-and wrote it down.rnI added: "Of course, a government can-and occasionally ought to-do all kinds of things. But the more additional things it takes on, the more likely it is that it will neglect the three 'musts.' And the one most likely to be neglected is the currency. Do-every-thing governments nearly alwavs allow inflation to gain a hold."
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