Milton may have popularized it, but Heinlein created it...

Post-Death tributes to Milton Friedman are abound. His contributions for the fight against modern socialism can't be denied.

That being said I read this quote from WSJ from Kathy's blog and nearly lept out of my seat:

"In truth, Professor Friedman always argued with civility and a bracing wit. One of his best barbs on the size of government: “Given our monstrous, overgrown government structure, any three letters chosen at random would probably designate an agency or part of a department that could be profitably abolished.” And he popularized 'There is no such thing as a free lunch.'"

Let's get things straight here. Milton may have helped to popularize the phrase, but he wasn't alone.

Legendary Classic Sci-Fi author Robert Heinlein, as far as I know, coined the phrase in his book "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" - A story about an essentially libertarian penal conoly on the moon that revolts against the earth.

Also it isn't "There is no such thing as a free lunch" but "There AINT no such thing as a free lunch." It was acronymed in the story to TANSTAAFL, which become part of the lingo of the colony.

For years computer programmers used the word "TANSTAAFL" to characterise a situation where something went wrong.

Just thought that needed to be cleared up. Friedman though was obviously a Child of Heinlein.