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Walter Williams: Suffer No Fools - Full Video — Transcript

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0:00The welfare state has done
0:02to black Americans what
0:04slavery could not have
0:05done, Jim Crow and the
0:08harshest racism could not
0:10have done - namely to
0:11destroy the black family.
0:13Many people believe that
0:15the route to economic
0:17power is to have political
0:20power, and there's
0:21absolutely no evidence to
0:23support that. Government
0:25cannot create a special
0:28privilege for one
0:29American, without
0:31simultaneously creating a
0:33special disadvantage for
0:35some other American. The
0:37phrase, "takes no
0:38prisoners," should have
0:39been invented to describe
0:41Walter Williams. I was a
0:42radical in terms of the
0:43civil rights movement. I
0:45was surely...I was not a
0:47supporter of Martin Luther
0:48King, but more a supporter
0:50of Malcolm X. You don't
0:52have to scratch your head
0:54and say, "You know, I
0:55wonder what Walter's
0:56really saying, what he
0:58really means?" I am very,
0:59very happy that I got
1:02virtually all of my
1:03education before it became
1:05fashionable for white
1:06people to like black
1:08people. Does the country
1:09need more people like
1:10Walter Williams? More
1:11people who are
1:12intellectually honest,
1:14intellectually rigorous,
1:16tell it like it is and
1:17don't engage in group
1:18thinking? I don't see how
1:20we could have too many,
1:21too many Walter Williams'.
1:31Major funding for Walter Williams
1:33Suffer No Fools was provided by
1:35Dunn's Foundation, and
1:37Searle Freedom Trust.
1:39Additional funding was
1:41provided by Beach
1:42Foundation, Harvey Cody,
1:44Donors Trust, The Hickory
1:47Foundation, William
1:48Shepard, and The Woodford
1:50Foundation for Limited
1:51Government.
1:58Walter Williams begins his day
2:00early - before most are
2:02out of bed. His enthusiasm
2:04for life is based on sound
2:06advice he received as a
2:08young man...learn to come
2:09early and stay late- and
2:13always be ready when the
2:14opportunity train comes
2:16along.
2:23If there's one
2:24great thing that can be
2:26said about the United
2:27States, just because you
2:29know where a person ends
2:32up in life, you can't be
2:34sure about where he
2:35started. Black Americans
2:39have made the greatest
2:40gains over some of the
2:42highest hurdles, in the
2:43shortest period of time,
2:45than any racial group in
2:47the history of mankind.
2:49Now the question before us
2:50is: how can we make these
2:52gains available to a large
2:56percentage of the black
2:57community for whom they
2:59appear to be elusive?
3:04He is an author, educator and
3:07syndicated columnist. His
3:09provocative ideas and
3:10infectious humor have
3:12attracted leaders in
3:13business and
3:14government...and millions
3:16of Americans who have come
3:18to share his views on
3:19radio and television. He
3:22has been called
3:22"outrageous" and
3:23"impossible," because he
3:25believes so deeply in the
3:26American constitution and
3:28in America.
3:31This morning,
3:31Walter Williams will make
3:33the drive from his
3:34suburban home in
3:35Philadelphia to the campus
3:36of George Mason University
3:38in Fairfax, Virginia, to
3:40do what he has done for
3:41more than 45 years- teach
3:44economics. When I go to my
3:46grocer and I buy a gallon
3:49of milk for three dollars
3:51I say, "Look, if you will
3:55give me title to that
3:59gallon of milk, I will
4:02give you title to this
4:04three dollars." I will
4:05exchange these titles. So,
4:08the essence of exchange is
4:11the transfer of property
4:13rights. Teaching is a
4:16passion for Walter
4:17Williams. He continues to
4:18believe the young people
4:19in his classroom are
4:20America's best hope for
4:22the future. I've learned a
4:24lot from Dr. Williams in
4:26that, you can tell that he
4:28approaches the ideas of
4:30liberty and private
4:31property and free markets
4:33from a moral perspective.
4:35And for me, that is
4:36incredibly important. The
4:38reason why slavery is
4:40immoral, or rape, or
4:42murder is immoral, because
4:44it violates private
4:45property. And so, if you
4:48start with the idea of
4:50self-ownership then you
4:51can say, "Well, what is
4:52moral and what is
4:53immoral?" The ideas that
4:56you hear me talk about-
4:57that people hear me
4:58discussing when I'm on the
5:01radio or in my column,
5:03those ideas- or those
5:06discussions never reach my
5:08classroom, because I think
5:10that it's an academic
5:12dishonesty to use the
5:14classroom to proselytize
5:16students. From his home in
5:20Philadelphia, Walter
5:21Williams spends much of
5:22his time writing his
5:23nationally syndicated
5:25column, or another book on
5:27his favored topics- race
5:29and economics.
5:33Buenos tardes Los Angeles! Larry
5:35Elder here, the sage from
5:36South Central, the prince
5:37of Pico Union, the czar
5:38of... Walter has long
5:40enjoyed his participation
5:41on radio and television.
5:43This is one of the
5:44problems that black
5:45Americans face. That is
5:47many of us...we feel that
5:49we can achieve salvation
5:51through the political
5:52arena, that is by putting
5:53a black person in charge
5:55of our lives. And if you
5:56ask the question, "In what
5:58cities in our country do
5:59black people receive the
6:01worst education, are most
6:04insecure in their lives,
6:06live under rotten
6:07conditions?" They are the
6:08very cities where a black
6:10is the mayor, the chief of
6:12police, the superintendent
6:13of schools. And I'm not
6:15saying there is a causal
6:17relationship between that.
6:18But I'm saying that
6:19there's not much salvation
6:21to be achieved through the
6:22political arena. My guest
6:23is Professor Walter
6:24Williams. He is an
6:25economics professor,
6:26teaches at George Mason
6:28University. If I say to
6:29the federal government, "I
6:30will pay my share of the
6:33constitutional,
6:34constitutionally mandated
6:35functions of the federal
6:36government, I will pay
6:37happily. But I will not
6:38have my earnings go to
6:40farmers, go to bail out
6:41big banks." You'll see all
6:42the intimidation, threats
6:43and oppression... But I
6:45think America, meets, any,
6:48any normal person's
6:49definition of - we are
6:51living in a free society
6:52here. This is not Plato's
6:53Republic. This is not the
6:55Soviet Union..... We're
6:56not living in a free
6:57society. Always
6:59controversial and popular,
7:01Walter has inspired
7:02students and colleagues
7:03alike. I first was
7:05introduced to Walter
7:06Williams when I saw him on
7:08television. It was in, I
7:10believe, the spring of
7:121981. Professor Williams
7:13is saying, among other
7:15things, that perhaps the
7:17Great Society programs,
7:19and the whole idea of
7:21government as father or
7:23paternal, has not been in
7:24the best interests of - of
7:25all people... minorities.
7:26And then Walter said a
7:29statement that I will
7:30never forget. He said to
7:33Phil Donahue, he said,
7:34"Phil, who owns you? Who
7:36owns your life?" Said John
7:39Locke, asked this question
7:40centuries ago, and I ask
7:42you and everybody in this
7:43audience, "Who owns your
7:44life?" Right then and
7:47there I said, "Oh, I love
7:48this guy. Who is this
7:50guy?" I didn't know who he
7:51was. I didn't even know
7:52his name at the time. And
7:53they flashed Dr. Walter
7:54Williams, George Mason
7:55University under, under
7:57his picture on the TV. And
7:59that night I then called
8:02Walter. I called the
8:03department, and I said,
8:04"Can I speak to Walter
8:05Williams?" And he was
8:06there in his office. And I
8:08said, "I want to study
8:09economics under you." So
8:11food stamps cause
8:12illegitimate babies then?
8:14No, no...no. Sexual
8:16intercourse does.
8:17AUDIENCE APPLAUSE...LAUGHTER
8:21MUSIC
8:34Walter E. Williams - claiming the
8:36"E" stands for excellence-
8:39was born in Philadelphia
8:40in 1936. He spent his
8:43early boyhood with his
8:44mother and his sister
8:45Catherine. In 1947, the
8:50family moved into the
8:51Richard Allen housing
8:52project in North
8:53Philadelphia, one of the
8:54city's first federally
8:56funded housing projects
8:57for working-class
8:58families. My mother was
9:02very, very important. She
9:05was the one who made the
9:06sacrifices to make sure
9:08that we got a reasonably
9:10good education given our
9:11income, given our
9:12circumstances. Even though
9:14we were poor, my mother
9:17used to always tell us,
9:19"Look, we have a beer
9:21pocketbook, but we have
9:22champagne taste." Walter's
9:24father was largely absent
9:26and offered almost no
9:27financial support. With
9:29the little he did provide,
9:31and Catherine Williams'
9:32part-time job as a
9:33domestic servant, the
9:35family got by. They were
9:37part of the welfare state,
9:39but they were never a part
9:40of the welfare ideology.
9:42She and her sisters were
9:44very determined people,
9:46and demanded a whole lot
9:48out of us as kids. At that
9:50time, blacks were very
9:52demanding of their
9:53children in terms of
9:54education and
9:55responsibility. I think
9:57part of the reason that my
9:59dad is who he is has a lot
10:01to do with her, and his
10:03upbringing with her. One
10:05of the reasons she's kind
10:06of inspirational for him
10:08is because she did a lot
10:09with the little that she
10:10had. There were different
10:12values of hard work and
10:15sacrifice and respect.
10:17And, and, many of those
10:18values are absent today
10:20among Americans in
10:21general, and very often,
10:24and even more so among
10:26young Americans who are
10:27black. This is Parish Drive.
10:29Okay. Where at least
10:32one of the streets that
10:34went into the projects.
10:35And it was much different
10:37then. That is, there
10:38wasn't the kind of the
10:39crime. There wasn't the
10:41broken families. Matter of
10:42fact, my sister and I were
10:43the only kids in this
10:45whole neighborhood that
10:46only had one parent in the
10:47house. Yeah, I'm sure
10:48that's not the case now.
10:49Walter's grandmother was
10:50the daughter of slaves.
10:52His mother never graduated
10:53from high school. Still,
10:55Catherine Williams
10:56introduced her son and
10:57daughter to as much
10:58culture as her pocketbook
11:00would allow. On weekends,
11:03she would take her
11:04children to the
11:05Philadelphia Museum of
11:06Art...the Free
11:07Library...and the Franklin
11:09institute. I was the first
11:10in the family to graduate
11:11from high school, but I
11:12wasn't always serious in
11:15school. I remember the
11:16counselor told my mother,
11:18"As soon as he gets this
11:20foolishness out of him,
11:21he's really going to go
11:22somewhere."
11:25One of the
11:26rather remarkable
11:27differences between I
11:29guess today, among many,
11:30many black Americans than
11:32of yesteryear, is that
11:34well, in yesteryear we
11:36could not dream of having
11:37all the material things
11:39that are available to poor
11:40people today. We're no
11:42longer looking at problems
11:44of poverty defined in
11:46terms of money. We are
11:48looking at a kind of
11:50poverty, and I think it's
11:51similar to what Walter
11:53refers to it as spiritual
11:54poverty, in which there
11:56has been a loss of a
11:58vision of what constitutes
12:00a good life. And what I
12:02mean by spiritual poverty
12:04is where people lack the
12:06ambition. They've
12:07developed the ideas of
12:08dependency, and they're
12:12engaging in all kinds of
12:13pathological behaviors,
12:17such as the high
12:18illegitimacy rate where
12:2070-some percent of black
12:21kids are born out of
12:22wedlock. And it was like,
12:24in 1940, it was only 13
12:26percent.
12:28Once you've reached that stage,
12:30you've got to change the culture
12:32before you can solve the problem.
12:35Daniel Patrick
12:36Moynihan was United States
12:37assistant secretary of
12:39labor in 1965. His
12:42controversial Moynihan
12:43Report helped stimulate
12:45President Lyndon Johnson's
12:46"War on Poverty." There
12:48are health districts in
12:49New York City, where for
12:50every thousand children,
12:51781 are living on welfare.
12:54The illegitimacy ratios in
12:56the city- in some of the
12:59slums is up now towards 50
13:01percent. Half the children
13:03born are illegitimate, and
13:05we don't understand that.
13:07The irony is, the people
13:08who do that are
13:09congratulating themselves
13:10to this day for having
13:11created the welfare state,
13:13with no thought about what
13:14were...what was the
13:16collateral damage? And
13:17were the small things that
13:20you were able to do for
13:21people worth that damage?
13:23What we find is the basic
13:25economic principle, and
13:27that is, if you tax
13:29something you're going to
13:30get less of it, and if you
13:31subsidize it, you're going
13:33to get more of it. And
13:34what we've been doing is
13:35subsidizing slovenly behavior.
13:43In the 1940s,
13:44almost any youngster,
13:46black or white, who wanted
13:48to work, found a job. At
13:50the age of ten, Walter was
13:52shining shoes. In high
13:54school, he delivered mail
13:56and packed shipping orders
13:57for the Sears Roebuck
13:58department store. If I
14:00wanted to go to the
14:01movies, or if I wanted to
14:04go to the amusement park,
14:07there was no money from my
14:08mother to give us to go to
14:09the amusement park, and so
14:11we had to work. One of
14:15Walter's favorite jobs was
14:17at the Horn & Hardart
14:18Automat, in the heart of
14:19downtown Philadelphia.
14:21Once the world's largest
14:23restaurant chain, the
14:24automat, with its iconic
14:25coin operated machines was
14:27America's original fast
14:29food restaurant. I thought
14:31that Horn and Hardart's
14:32was a wonderful job. Horn
14:35and Hardart was a very,
14:37very famous restaurant in
14:38Philadelphia, and the good
14:39thing about working at
14:40Horn and Hardart's was
14:42here I am, 14 or 15 years
14:43old, you could eat all you
14:45want. And the way to an
14:47adolescent's heart is by
14:51giving them lots of food.
14:54Walter's first real job
14:56was at the U-Needa-Hat
14:57Company, where he taught
14:59himself to operate an
15:00electric sewing machine.
15:02When a seamstress found
15:03out he was on the payroll,
15:05she complained that the
15:06owner was in violation of
15:07child labor laws. There
15:09was a visit from the
15:10Department of Labor... and
15:12Walter was fired. During
15:14the time, I thought the
15:15Labor Department was on my
15:17side because they're, I
15:18said they're really trying
15:20to get more money for me.
15:22But after the fact, when
15:24I'd lost my job, I found
15:25that they're not really on
15:26my side at all. Much
15:31later, in 1985, Walter
15:33protested labor laws like
15:35the minimum wage in his
15:36first public television
15:38documentary, Good
15:39Intentions. Today, in
15:42ghettos like I grew up in,
15:4470 percent of black
15:46children who look for
15:47jobs, cannot find them.
15:49That's a shame because a
15:51first job means much more
15:53than pocket change. It's a
15:54chance for a start, maybe
15:56in a store like this. Most
15:58of the kids that you give
15:59jobs to, they hold them
16:00for a long period of time.
16:02And I wish I could give
16:04more kids jobs, because I
16:06have kids constantly
16:07coming up to me and asking
16:09me for jobs. They're even
16:11more important for kids
16:12who grow up in broken
16:14homes, who've gone to
16:15rotten schools, because if
16:16they're going to learn
16:18anything that will make
16:19them a more valuable
16:20worker in the future,
16:22they're not going to learn
16:23it in their neighborhoods.
16:25They're not going to learn
16:26in their schools. So they
16:28have to learn it on the
16:30job. And what the Minimum
16:32Wage Law does, it nixes
16:34that learning. Starting in
16:351961, congress began to
16:37push the minimum wage
16:38higher. In effect, the law
16:39forced teenagers to ask
16:41for more than they were
16:42worth. Most people are
16:44unaware, in 1948- black 16
16:47and 17 year olds had an
16:49unemployment rate just
16:51under 10 percent. They
16:52were not to get down that
16:55low again, in even the
16:57most prosperous years in
16:58the 60s, 70s or any time,
17:00right up to the present
17:02moment. A lot of people
17:04say, "Well, the minimum
17:06wage is an anti-poverty
17:07device." Well, that is
17:09utter nonsense. It doesn't
17:11even pass the smell-test.
17:13Because if it were an
17:15anti-poverty device, well
17:17then, instead of spending
17:18all this money on foreign
17:19aid, we just have our
17:21experts at the State
17:22Department tell
17:23Bangladesh, "Well you
17:25could be rich like we are,
17:27just have a higher minimum
17:28wage."
17:34In 1958, Walter's
17:36mother remarried, and for
17:38Walter that was good news.
17:41She married her childhood
17:43sweetheart, and his name
17:44was Thomas Burchett. And
17:46we called him Pops. He
17:48became a father that I
17:50never had. And then he
17:52taught me responsibility.
17:54There are so many lessons
17:56that my dad continued
17:57through Pops, through me.
18:01It's those lessons that
18:02his Pops taught him that
18:05made him a better man.
18:07Walter graduates from high
18:08school, and registers for
18:10two night classes at
18:11Temple University. To pay
18:13the bill he goes to work
18:15driving a taxi, and that
18:17changes his life. Through
18:19another driver, he meets
18:21an attractive young woman
18:22destined to become Mrs.
18:25Walter Williams. She was a
18:27wonderful person, and she
18:28was very, very good for
18:30me. She, as Walter, had a
18:32great sense of herself.
18:33She was a pleasure to be
18:35around, and she didn't
18:36take any stuff from
18:38Walter. I loved the
18:40relationship between
18:41Connie and Walter because
18:43she really kept him under
18:44control, and he really
18:46enjoyed it. She was a very
18:48level-headed person. I
18:50suppose she would have to
18:51be...and very discerning.
18:54And not at all like so
18:57many people that you meet,
18:58who are trying to show off
19:01how smart they are. She
19:02was an older woman. She
19:03was three years older than
19:05I and a little more
19:08worldly than I. But she
19:11was very, very effective
19:14at giving me some of her
19:16skills for getting along
19:18with people, because I did
19:19not get along that well
19:20with people. We became
19:22instantaneous friends. She
19:25was smart, and like I
19:26said, she handles Walter
19:27beautifully. My mom taught
19:30my dad how to behave,
19:32really. And not so much
19:34that he didn't know how to
19:35interact with people, he
19:37did. When you're with a
19:39man with that intellect,
19:41sometimes wives tend to be
19:42a little reticent...not
19:44Connie. They would, you
19:46know, go to parties and he
19:48would be arrogant. And
19:50they would come home and
19:51he would get a scolding,
19:52saying "You know, you
19:53can't talk to people like
19:54that." is what my mom
19:55would say. "If you want to
19:56be friends with someone,
19:57you don't have to prove
19:58you're the smartest person
19:59in the room. People will
20:00know just by having
20:02conversation with you."
20:04Conchetta Taylor was born
20:05the youngest of eleven
20:06children. She was three
20:08years old when her mother
20:09died, leaving her father
20:11to care for his large and
20:13very poor family.
20:15Sometimes they would go
20:16into an abandoned house,
20:19and he could jerry-rig the
20:21electricity so that they
20:23would have some
20:24electricity and some heat
20:27maybe, until they were
20:28discovered and they had to
20:29move. Their relationship
20:31developed quickly and
20:33Connie urged him to
20:34fashion a plan for his
20:35future. Walter decided
20:38they would move to
20:39California where he wanted
20:40to finish college. It is
20:451958, and America is still
20:48drafting able-bodied men
20:49in the armed forces. Even
20:52Elvis Presley had to put
20:53his career on hold, and by
20:55the next summer, Walter
20:57too, would be drafted into
20:58Uncle Sam's army.
21:00Sometimes I don't call it
21:01drafting- my labor
21:02services were confiscated
21:04by the United States
21:05government. And I just had
21:07to put off everything that
21:08I had planned on doing to
21:10spend two years in the
21:12army. Walter's stepfather
21:15"Pops" was a tech sergeant
21:17during World War II. He
21:19had some sound advice for
21:20the young man. "Being in
21:22the army is a million
21:24dollar experience that you
21:26wouldn't take a million
21:27dollars to do again." He
21:30had no idea how right Pops
21:32was. Walter boarded a bus
21:34that would take him to
21:35boot camp in the Deep
21:36South. It was only the
21:38beginning of a long and
21:40difficult journey. My
21:42first experience with open
21:44discrimination and
21:46segregation was while I
21:48was on my way reporting to
21:49Fort Stewart, Georgia. And
21:51I looked up and saw a sign
21:54saying, "Colored Waiting
21:56Room." There was
21:58discrimination in
21:59Philadelphia, but there
22:01weren't the open signs
22:02saying, "Colored waiting
22:04room, colored bathroom,
22:05colored water fountain." I
22:08was just in shock, because
22:09I'd never seen that being
22:10born and raised in
22:11Philadelphia. In 1948,
22:15President Harry Truman
22:16by-passed congress to end
22:18"official" segregation in
22:19the American armed forces
22:21with an executive order.
22:23But for Walter, the order
22:25was meaningless. Truman's
22:27desegregation of the army
22:29was to eliminate separate
22:33divisions, like black
22:35companies and white
22:38companies. But
22:39nonetheless,
22:40discrimination and
22:42segregation remained. One
22:44obvious form of
22:45discrimination in the
22:46military was the
22:47assignment of menial jobs
22:48to blacks. Walter was sent
22:51to the motor pool to wash
22:52military vehicles. When he
22:54was ordered to paint a
22:55two-and-a-half-ton truck,
22:57he knew full well the
22:58officer meant only the
23:00flatbed. By the time he
23:02got to the tires- he was
23:03stopped. And so he says,
23:06"Soldier, what in the hell
23:07are you doing?" I said,
23:08"I'm painting the truck,
23:09sir." He said, "You don't
23:11do it that way." I said,
23:11"You said the whole
23:12truck." I was using my
23:14best Stepin Fetchit
23:15routine. ...exactly
23:19nervous...I just generally
23:21falls to pieces around
23:22polices... Hi, once again
23:25this is Dick Clark,
23:26welcoming you back to
23:27American Bandstand.
23:30Walter's troublemaking
23:31doesn't end with the
23:32truck. He stirs up white
23:33soldiers, telling them he
23:34saw his white girlfriend
23:35dancing on TV's American
23:37Bandstand, and organizes
23:39black soldiers to attend a
23:40segregated dance...on the
23:42wrong night. He becomes
23:43more and more unpopular,
23:45not only with the officers
23:46and his peers, but with
23:47some of the black
23:48soldiers. They used to say
23:50things like, "We had our
23:51own senators, we have our
23:54own churches, our own
23:55stores, and it's people
23:57like you from the North
23:58that's coming down here
24:00causing problems. And in
24:02fact, many of the white
24:04soldiers told me, "Don't
24:05come off the base." The
24:08targets of the Nashville
24:09students were the lunch
24:10counters of the city's two
24:11largest department stores,
24:13and four variety stores.
24:15And for the first time,
24:17the community was
24:18confronted with Negroes in
24:19places where they had
24:21never been. It is 1960.
24:25America has entered a new
24:27phase of the civil rights
24:28movement. Black college
24:30students are staging
24:31"sit-ins" at segregated
24:32lunch counters, waiting
24:34rooms and government
24:35offices throughout the
24:36South. They come in, and
24:38they sit down and we're
24:40not used to them sitting
24:41down beside us- because I
24:42wasn't raised with them. I
24:43never have lived with
24:44them, and I'm not going to
24:45start now. Inspired by
24:47blatant displays of
24:48bigotry on
24:49television, Walter's
24:50troublemaking continues.
24:52One of the menial jobs he
24:53is ordered to do is sweep
24:55out battalion headquarters
24:56and run errands. That is
24:58when he discovers the head
24:59clerk at battalion
25:00headquarters is up for a
25:02discharge. I asked the
25:03sergeant major could I
25:04have his job. And so the
25:06sergeant major laughed,
25:07and he had been briefed
25:08about me. And so he said,
25:10"You probably couldn't
25:11figure out the job." And
25:13so I said, "Well, give me
25:14a chance." And so he said,
25:16"Well, okay type this."
25:17I typed it, and I corrected
25:20some errors in it, and I
25:21handed it back to him, and
25:23so I convinced him that I
25:27could do the job. Being
25:30the court recorder I
25:31learned a whole lot about
25:32military law. And that
25:34helped me out very well
25:35when I was
25:36court-martialed. Private
25:38Walter Williams was served
25:40his summary court-martial
25:42on a trumped-up charge of
25:44failing to obey a direct
25:47command. The company
25:48commander told me to lay
25:49out a full field
25:50inspection, and so, I laid
25:53it out and the sergeant
25:54told me to put it away.
25:55And so the company
25:57commander called me to the
25:58office and asked me how
25:59come I didn't lay out the
26:00full field inspection? And
26:02I told him, "I did, but
26:03the sergeant told me to
26:04put it away and go to
26:05work." And so he called
26:07the sergeant in, and the
26:08sergeant said he hadn't
26:09seen me that morning. They
26:11were really after me. He
26:13serves as his own defense
26:14council and is found "not
26:16guilty of all charges."
26:18The army brass, knowing
26:20that Walter is considering
26:21legal action against his
26:23captain, orders him to
26:24finish his duty...in South
26:26Korea. Before shipping
26:29out, and not wanting to
26:31lose Connie, he proposes.
26:33They're married by the
26:34Reverend John Logan,
26:35rector of St. Simon
26:36Episcopal Church. Unable
26:39to afford a church
26:40wedding, Walter accepts
26:42Reverend Logan's offer to
26:43perform the ceremony
26:44across the street in the
26:46front room of his home.
26:50In Korea, Walter resumes his
26:54campaign against
26:55discrimination. He writes
26:56letters to his superiors,
26:57to politicians and to the
26:59editors of newspapers. The
27:01Philadelphia Independent
27:03prints his letter
27:04detailing racial
27:05discrimination and shabby
27:06military practices on its
27:08front page. I had officers
27:11that would question me and
27:12say, what's my agenda? And
27:14I would say, "In all due
27:17respect to you, sir, I
27:18took an oath of office
27:20when I was drafted into
27:22the army to uphold and
27:24defend the United States
27:25Constitution against its
27:27enemies, both foreign and
27:28domestic. And you sir, are
27:30a domestic enemy of the
27:32Constitution. As a
27:33reservist, Walter
27:34continues to fight for his
27:36constitutional rights. He
27:37writes to President John
27:38Kennedy and asks,
27:40"...should Negroes be
27:41relieved of their service
27:42obligation, or continue
27:43defending and dying for
27:45empty promises of freedom
27:47and equality?" He receives
27:50a reply from the Assistant
27:52Secretary of Defense, and
27:54his assistant calls to
27:55suggest that he just might
27:56want to request a hardship
27:58release from active
27:59reserve duty. Walter
28:01followed that advice and
28:02two years later, in 1965,
28:05he received an honorable
28:07discharge. I was
28:0824-years-old and I said,
28:10"If I don't get started
28:12soon...I'm never going to
28:13be anything. And so, I
28:16wrote a letter to Connie
28:18and I said, "Well, as soon
28:20as we save $700, we're
28:22going to go to Los
28:23Angeles, and I'm going to
28:24go to college." Going to
28:26Los Angeles was probably
28:27the second wisest decision
28:29I made in my life. And the
28:30first one was to marry Connie.
28:32MUSIC
28:43In February 1962,
28:46Walter enrolls as a
28:47full-time student at
28:48California State College,
28:50Los Angeles. With Connie
28:52at his side, it seems
28:54anything is possible. He
28:56said, "You know, I have to
28:57do better. I don't want to
28:59drive a cab until I'm 70."
29:01And I think because she
29:02was willing to go with
29:03him- and willing to
29:04support him...go to
29:05California...and she
29:06worked full-time his
29:08entire time through grad
29:10school and under grad. I
29:12don't think there is a way
29:13that he could have done it
29:14by himself. And we were
29:16together as a couple,
29:18inseparable for close to
29:2150 years before she passed
29:23away. And I owe a good
29:26part of my life character
29:29to Connie, because Connie
29:32was a civilizing
29:33influence. He lost his
29:35soul mate and his partner,
29:36and the person that he
29:38shares everything with.
29:40His "beautiful girl," is
29:41what he would say. He lost
29:42her. And I think that
29:45we're both still
29:46recovering from that.
29:49Their relationship was a
29:51certainly loving one. She
29:53really, she taught him how
29:54to - to love. They lived a
29:57modest existence on
29:58Connie's paycheck, and
29:59Walter was enjoying life
30:01as a college student. But
30:03the struggle for civil
30:04rights could not be
30:05ignored. I was a radical
30:07in terms of the civil
30:08rights movement. I was not
30:10a supporter of Martin
30:11Luther King, but more a
30:13supporter of Malcolm X.
30:15And I believe that...that
30:17the use of violence and
30:20confrontation was far more
30:23appropriate than "We shall
30:25overcome." The goal of Dr.
30:27Martin Luther King is to
30:28get Negroes to forgive the
30:29people who have brutalized
30:31them for 400 years, by
30:33lulling them to sleep, and
30:34making them forgetting
30:35what whites have done to
30:37them. I was a sociology
30:38major at Cal State LA. I
30:40read W.E.B. DuBois' Black
30:42Reconstruction. And he was
30:45saying that Negroes are
30:46not going to achieve any
30:48salvation in our country
30:49until they understand the
30:50economic system. And that
30:52convinced me that well- I
30:54think I should major in
30:55economics. I truly believe
30:57that Walter found out,
30:59too, is that if you
31:00understand economics, you
31:01can work your way in this
31:02world a lot better. You
31:03don't get fooled by
31:04politicians or other
31:06people. I saw it as a
31:08struggle for liberty.
31:17The portrayal of blacks as
31:18helpless victims of
31:19slavery, discrimination
31:22and personal violence is a
31:24part of our American
31:25history. But for Walter,
31:27the facts of the matter do
31:28not square with that
31:29portrayal. Many blacks
31:31went to work to earn the
31:33money they would need to
31:34buy their freedom. One of
31:38the big mistakes that we
31:40make in terms of looking
31:42at black history in the
31:43United States is our
31:45failure to recognize that
31:47blacks did not accept
31:49slavery passively. There
31:52was a phenomenon called
31:55self-hiring, or sometimes
31:56they call it quasi-free
32:00blacks. One of the more
32:01famous quasi-free Negroes
32:03was Frederick Douglass.
32:04He did ship caulking. He did
32:06many other kinds of jobs,
32:08and he would go back and
32:09give his owner some money.
32:11Despite the rhetoric that
32:12people use, considering
32:15blacks as lower forms of
32:18human beings, economics
32:19tends to bring people to
32:20their senses. Whites were
32:23willing to hire blacks.
32:24Whites were willing to
32:25make purchases from
32:26blacks...why? Because
32:28either they worked for
32:29lower wages, or a higher
32:31quality product. And so
32:33again... economics tend to
32:35bring people to their
32:36senses. Over time, blacks
32:39struggled to enter the
32:40mainstream of American
32:41life. They acquired
32:43property and personal
32:44holdings to the point that
32:46DuBois commented: "...it
32:47is astonishing how the
32:49African has integrated
32:50himself into American
32:51civilization." In 1853,
32:54Frederick Douglass warned
32:55his fellow blacks, "Learn
32:58trades or starve."
33:01Black entrepreneurs began to
33:02exploit markets for fellow
33:04blacks as well as whites.
33:06By the mid-19th century,
33:08Thomy Lafon became a real
33:09estate dealer in New
33:10Orleans. His fortune
33:12totaled $8 million dollars
33:14in today's money. William
33:16H. Brown founded the first
33:18black bank in Virginia.
33:20Junius G. Groves was born
33:22a slave in Kentucky, but
33:24when he went to Kansas he
33:25became the country's
33:26largest individual grower
33:28of potatoes. And in
33:31Concord, North Carolina,
33:33Warren Clay Coleman
33:34received financial
33:35assistance from wealthy
33:36white businessmen to found
33:38his Coleman Textile
33:39Manufacturing Company. One
33:43of the best kept secrets
33:45of the 19th century is
33:46that blacks were making a
33:48lot of progress in the
33:49face of obstacles. When
33:52whites faced competition
33:54from blacks, either as
33:56workers or merchants, then
34:00they used the political
34:01system to rig the economic
34:03game. So what do you do?
34:05You pass a law that says
34:08that you restrict
34:10competition, so that all
34:11at once it's much more
34:13difficult for blacks to
34:14have a competitive
34:15advantage by being willing
34:16to work for lower wages,
34:17which historically is how
34:19people get ahead.
34:19And this is why the
34:22people who are for discrimination
34:25are also against markets,
34:26because they know markets
34:28tend to be color blind.
34:31CHEERING
34:36High school basketball: an
34:39opening for a young person
34:40of color to take a shot at
34:42becoming a professional
34:43player. Not long
34:45ago...such opportunity did
34:47not exist. A long-time fan
34:50of basketball, Walter and
34:52former NBA referee Steve
34:54Javie both know how the
34:56free market creates
34:57opportunity, without any
34:59need for racial
35:00preferences. At one time,
35:02black Americans were not
35:04allowed in professional
35:05basketball and football.
35:07Well, how did black
35:09Americans go from not
35:10being in these sports...
35:11Right. ... to being the
35:14top and dominating them-
35:15if it wasn't due to any
35:18anti-discriminatory laws,
35:19or affirmative action at
35:21all? So you say, well, how
35:23do you explain it? I think
35:25that these guys can just
35:27do a 360 slam dunk in your
35:29face, and you can't do
35:30anything about it. You
35:32mean you're saying I can't
35:33do it? No you can't.
35:34(Laughter)
35:36I know you say there wasn't
35:37affirmative action. I agree, probably
35:39wasn't, it was the fact
35:40that they started becoming
35:41so good at what they were
35:42doing. Well, you couldn't
35:43ignore them. Right, but
35:45you still had to get the
35:46public to accept that.
35:48Well, I don't know...in
35:49the sense of like when
35:50Branch Rickey of the
35:53Dodgers, when he hired
35:55Jackie Robinson- that was
35:57a risk. But once he hired
35:59Jackie Robinson, there was
36:00this huge pool of black
36:02talent... Robinson is the
36:04first of his race to be
36:06honored with admission
36:07into the shrine of the
36:08national game. Branch
36:09Ricky was known for a long
36:10time as someone who had a
36:11keen appreciation for the
36:13dollar. For him, it would
36:15be a bonanza to bring
36:16Jackie Robinson into the
36:17major leagues. So much
36:19that Jackie Robinson was
36:20put through was due to the
36:22fact that other people
36:24understood that once he
36:26broke the color line, it
36:28was all over. What allowed
36:30the race thing to stay as
36:32long as it did was the
36:33absence of competition.
36:34Major League baseball had
36:35an exemption from the
36:37anti-trust laws. And so,
36:39the cartel was safe. They
36:41could do whatever they
36:42wanted. But once one
36:43member of that cartel
36:44broke that barrier, then
36:47the others would be at an
36:48enormous disadvantage
36:50within organized baseball,
36:51if they didn't also get
36:53black players. And of
36:54course, they did. In
36:57sports, or in the music
37:00industry where you see
37:01black excellence, you
37:02don't see any affirmative
37:03action. You don't see any
37:05lawsuits. What you do see
37:07is excellence.
37:15The turmoil of the mid 60s while I was
37:18in California, I did not
37:22participate in it at all,
37:24and the reason why was- I
37:27was just too busy. I was
37:28working full-time and I
37:30was a full-time student at
37:32UCLA. And I just could not
37:36participate, and then
37:37after a while, I just
37:39thought it was nonsense.
37:41When Walter graduated from
37:43Cal State with a BA in
37:44economics, one of his
37:46professors encouraged him
37:47to pursue graduate school.
37:50He enrolled in UCLA's
37:51program in economics-
37:53among the top dozen such
37:54programs in the country.
37:57Walter was a remarkable
37:59presence from the first
38:00moment I met him. There
38:02was the shark's tooth
38:04necklace; the
38:06height; the evident energy,
38:09and the underlying strength.
38:13Plus the rumor that I think he
38:15may have helped propagate,
38:16that he'd been an enforcer
38:18for the Black Panthers.
38:20After receiving his
38:21master's degree, he lands
38:23a part-time teaching job
38:24at Los Angeles City
38:25College. He would quickly
38:27realize he was both
38:29teacher...and student. It
38:31taught me economics...that
38:32is one of the best ways to
38:33learn economics is to
38:34teach it. And then it
38:36taught me that, heck, I
38:38really like teaching and
38:39I'm going to make this a
38:41career. With the help of
38:43tough-minded mentors like
38:44Armen Alchian and Larry
38:46Kimball at UCLA, and his
38:48exposure to the works of
38:49philosopher/economists
38:51like Friedrich Hayek and
38:52Milton Friedman, Walter
38:54went on to earn his Ph.D.
38:56At UCLA they gave me
38:58inspiration to think with
39:00my brain, instead of my
39:03heart. It was probably,
39:05maybe the beginning of my
39:07switching from one kind of
39:09radical to another. With a
39:12head full of new ideas,
39:13Walter accepts a full-time
39:15assistant professorship
39:16from Cal State's Economics
39:18Department...a long way
39:20from the Philadelphia
39:21projects. I often tell
39:25people that I am very,
39:27very happy that I got
39:29virtually all of my
39:30education before it became
39:32fashionable for white
39:34people to like black
39:35people. So what that meant
39:37is that when I got a C, it
39:39was an honest-to-God C.
39:40When I got an A, it was an
39:42honest-to-God A. They
39:43weren't practicing
39:44affirmative action, and
39:45they didn't give a damn
39:46about my self-esteem.
39:53The violence in the streets
39:55over racial injustice, and
39:56the country's impatience
39:58with the Vietnam War
39:59escalates, but Walter
40:01remains focused on his
40:03career. In the fall of
40:051973, Walter and Connie
40:09move back to Philadelphia,
40:10and a new job teaching
40:11economics at Temple
40:12University. Before long,
40:14he is once again embroiled
40:17in controversy. There was
40:19a move by black students
40:21to demand a black
40:22economics course. And so I
40:25asked my colleagues,
40:26imagine if Irish or
40:28Italian students demanded
40:30Irish or Italian
40:31economics, you would throw
40:32them out of your office.
40:33But because of your guilt,
40:36you will listen to black
40:37students saying the same
40:39thing. In time, Walter
40:42becomes aware that some of
40:44his fellow faculty are
40:45especially tolerant of
40:47their under-performing
40:48black students. He writes
40:50a memo to the
40:51administrators of Temple's
40:52business school citing
40:54"fraudulent grades." A
40:56reporter's interview with
40:57Walter and his memo
40:59promptly appear in the
41:00Philadelphia Inquirer.
41:02Racial preferences or
41:04affirmative action is one
41:07of the most effective
41:09means, I believe, of
41:10reinforcing racial
41:12stereotypes. People don't
41:14realize that if you go
41:15back, from 1950 to 1965,
41:20blacks were moving up on
41:23all sorts of important
41:24dimensions. And they
41:26stopped moving up in a lot
41:27of those precisely at the
41:28time when "equal outcomes"
41:31became the battle cry. Not
41:33just equality as a right
41:36and a theory, but equality
41:39as a fact, and equality as
41:43a result. And that set in
41:47motion a cascade of
41:50subsequent programs,
41:52affirmative action, all
41:54the things the Equal
41:55Employment Opportunity
41:56Commission does. Every
41:57single one of them with
41:59the very best of
42:00intentions, and every
42:01single one of them
42:02producing feedback loops
42:04and unintended
42:05consequences, which have
42:07made it harder and harder
42:08to achieve the progress
42:10that was being achieved,
42:13before we got into the
42:14equal outcome mind set.
42:16America should have said
42:17to us at this time, we
42:19acknowledge what we did,
42:20and we are profoundly
42:21sorry. We will make every
42:22effort never to do
42:24this kind of thing
42:25again to anybody, any group.
42:26And now you're on your own.
42:28Racial discrimination and racism
42:31in our country could have
42:34earned a well-deserved
42:36death, but it has been
42:40resurrected by
42:41race-hustlers, or poverty
42:44pimps I call them, such as
42:46Jesse Jackson, Al
42:48Sharpton, and many others
42:50in the civil rights
42:51movement, who make a
42:53living on the grievances
42:56of blacks. In the summer
42:58of 1975, Walter accepts a
43:01one-year fellowship at
43:02Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
43:05He and Connie
43:07and their new-born
43:08daughter Devon would move
43:10back to California. I went
43:12out there that summer, and
43:13I was commissioned to do a
43:15study for the Joint
43:16Economic Committee of
43:17Congress on the minimum
43:19wage, and the Davis-Bacon
43:21Act. That is, these are
43:22laws that regulate the
43:26wages that people may
43:28earn. And I came to the
43:30conclusion that the
43:31minimum wage law
43:33discriminated against
43:34teenagers, particularly
43:35minority teenagers. And
43:36the Davis-Bacon Act
43:37discriminated against
43:38blacks in construction
43:39work. It was Walter's
43:41controversial minimum wage
43:42study that helped launch
43:44the more public side of
43:46his career. Requests for
43:48radio and television
43:49appearances increased. And
43:51our nation benefits to the
43:53extent that these people
43:55come here and work. ...the
43:57study on youth and
43:58minority unemployment I
43:59got invitations to testify
44:02in congress on various
44:05aspects of labor economics
44:07and other topics as well;
44:08on taxation, on welfare,
44:11and I used to get in some
44:13very, very kind of nasty
44:16arguments with
44:17congressmen, because I
44:19don't have the level of
44:21respect for congressmen
44:23that many people have. In
44:251978, Walter began a study
44:28on the negative effects of
44:29occupational and business
44:31licensing. It becomes a
44:33major part of his first
44:34book, The State against
44:36Blacks. If you take a
44:37poor, illiterate Italian
44:40in 1920s, and if he wanted
44:41to get into the taxi cab
44:43business, all he had to do
44:44was buy a used car and
44:46write the word "taxi" on
44:47it. And lo and behold, he
44:48was in business, making
44:49money. Today, it's
44:51entirely different. Unlike
44:53the early 20th century,
44:55many cities today restrict
44:57the number of taxis by
44:59requiring each taxi to
45:00have a medallion. The
45:02cities keep the number of
45:03medallions strictly
45:05limited. A taxi medallion
45:08in Philadelphia currently
45:09costs $400,000, similar to
45:12what it costs in Boston or
45:14Chicago. In New York City,
45:17a medallion costs an
45:19individual over $700,000,
45:21with a corporate medallion
45:22topping in at one million
45:24dollars. In 1937, one
45:27could buy an original taxi
45:28medallion in New York City
45:30for $10.
45:32The price of a medallion, or the
45:34price of any license,
45:35it reflects the value
45:39that the owner of the license places on
45:43being in a government
45:44protected monopoly market.
45:46Because if the government
45:47said anybody could get
45:48into the cab business,
45:50allow anybody, well then
45:52the price of a license
45:53would be zero. It wouldn't
45:54be worth anything. It
45:56leads to higher prices,
45:58and so the consumer is
45:59hurt. And it leads to
46:02outsiders not being able
46:05to get in. And that's the
46:06whole point of the
46:07medallion system is to
46:09keep insiders in, and
46:11outsiders out. As an
46:13American, Walter's beliefs
46:15spring from his deep love
46:17for the United States
46:18Constitution and his
46:20abiding respect for the
46:21rule of law. For him, the
46:24promise of the Founding
46:25Fathers to "promote the
46:27general welfare" and
46:28"secure the blessings of
46:30liberty" has been ignored.
46:32Americans have lost their
46:34love for the United States
46:36Constitution. And I
46:38believe that either
46:39they're ignorant, or they
46:40have contempt for the
46:42United States
46:43Constitution. Ignorance is
46:45curable, but contempt is not.
46:50Walter speaks to the
46:51"just powers" of
46:52government with another
46:53champion of the
46:54Constitution, Senior Judge
46:56on the United States Court
46:57of Appeals, Douglas Ginsburg.
46:59I've said on many
47:00occasions that the
47:03Supreme Court does not
47:05uphold and defend the
47:06United States Constitution.
47:09Which is your complaint- that the
47:10Court isn't upholding the
47:11Constitution, or that they
47:12shouldn't have a role?
47:14In 1794, Congress
47:16appropriated $15,000 to
47:17help some French refugees,
47:19and James Madison stood on
47:21the floor of the House,
47:22irate, and he says, "I
47:23cannot undertake to lay my
47:24finger on that article in
47:26the Constitution that
47:28authorizes congress to
47:29spend the money of their
47:30constituents for the
47:31purposes of benevolence.
47:32But if you look at the
47:33federal budget today,
47:342/3rds of it is for the
47:36purpose of benevolence,
47:38and any politician who
47:39would make a similar
47:41statement, he'd get run
47:42out of office today.
47:44On the surface it's benevolence
47:45because it's a benefit,
47:47a gift, but it's also
47:48enchainment, enslavement,
47:50because it makes people
47:54dependent on the federal
47:55government. The
47:56Constitution, Article one,
47:58Section Eight, enumerates
47:59the powers of the federal
48:00government, and the
48:02federal government has
48:04gone, congress has gone
48:07far beyond those
48:08enumerated powers I think
48:10the root of that
48:11problem...I don't know if
48:12you agree with this, is
48:13that the direct election
48:14of senators. When the
48:16senators were elected by
48:17the state legislatures,
48:19they represented the state
48:20as an entity in the
48:21federal government. No one
48:22does that any more. That's
48:24right. Yeah. And so, the
48:25federal government has
48:26created more and more
48:27authority and the states
48:30aren't there to object.
48:31Yeah. Yeah. And...and the
48:32states cannot do anything
48:33about it. It's water over
48:35the dam. There's no way to
48:38undo that one, unless
48:39people all of a sudden
48:41decide they weren't
48:43interested in having
48:44power. (Laughs) Are
48:45Americans any way
48:46basically different from
48:47the Romans, from the
48:49French, from the Spanish,
48:50from Portuguese, from the
48:52British? And these are
48:53great empires of the past,
48:55but they went down the
48:56tubes, for almost what
48:59we're doing today. And so,
49:01what is there about our
49:03country that's going to
49:04make American people any
49:06different? Pete Seeger
49:07wrote a song- was actually
49:09a union song, but the
49:10refrain was, "liberty is a
49:12hard-won thing, and every
49:14generation got to win it
49:15over again." And that's
49:18true, otherwise it
49:19languishes and then it's
49:20gone. Much of what Walter
49:23Williams has achieved in
49:24life has been the result
49:25of hard work and
49:27sacrifice. But luck and
49:29chance have also been on
49:30his side. What if he had
49:33never had a determined and
49:34disciplined mother, or
49:36tough-minded teachers who,
49:38as he says, didn't give a
49:40damn about his
49:41self-esteem? Suppose he
49:43never got a job driving a
49:45taxi? It's likely he would
49:47never have met Connie.
49:49Where would he be now?
49:50Where would any American
49:53of color be without
49:54freedom and opportunity?
49:57What then is Walter
49:59Williams' legacy? They're
50:02going to call him a
50:03controversial professor
50:04who offended a lot of
50:05black people. And they may
50:06mention his books, but
50:07they won't talk about the
50:08profound effect he's had
50:09on so many people, black
50:11and white, who have read
50:12his books and have been
50:13inspired by him. Walter is
50:15one of the few honest
50:16academics. And it's harder
50:19to be honest in academia,
50:21than almost any other
50:22place, with the possible
50:23exception of politics. He
50:26will be remembered, as he
50:27should be remembered, as
50:28one of the great
50:29economists, a great human
50:31being, and one of the most
50:33incredible blacks to have
50:36come through America in
50:38the past 80 years. The
50:41mandate in a free society,
50:43as Walter understands, is
50:46not to give freedom to
50:47people who agree with you.
50:49The essence of liberty is
50:51to allow freedom for
50:52people who disagree with
50:54you. You can be principled
50:56and un-flexing, unbendable
50:58with your principles and
51:00still be successful. And
51:01sometimes you have to
51:02stand up, and it's okay if
51:04you have to stand alone.
51:06And I think that that's, I
51:07think that that's an
51:08un-intentioned message
51:10that he sends. Sometimes
51:12you have to stand alone,
51:13but at least you're
51:14standing up.
51:17When he was
51:17in high school, he had an
51:20English class, and he
51:22turned in a research
51:23paper. When the teacher
51:26passed back the papers,
51:28she got to Walter's desk
51:29and she tore the paper
51:30into four pieces and
51:32dropped it on his desk.
51:33And she says, "Rewrite the
51:34whole paper." And he
51:37always pointed out that
51:38was one of the most
51:39influential teachers of
51:40his life, because she
51:41didn't make excuses for
51:42his failure. She demanded
51:44excellence because she
51:45believed in him...and
51:47that's the key. One of
51:49Pops' statements used to
51:50be that "Chance and
51:52opportunity don't come by
51:54very often, but when they
51:56do come by, when the
51:57opportunity train does
51:59come by, don't be in a
52:00position of saying, 'Wait,
52:02let me go pack my bags.'
52:03Always be ready for
52:05opportunity."
52:12On his website, Walter offers
52:13anyone of European descent
52:15a proclamation of amnesty
52:17and pardon. I, Walter
52:19Williams, do declare full
52:21and general amnesty and
52:23pardon to all persons of
52:25European... ...ancestry,
52:26for both their own
52:27grievances, and those of
52:29their forbearers against
52:31my people. Therefore, from
52:32this day forward,
52:34Americans of European
52:35ancestry ... ...can stand
52:37straight and proud,
52:38knowing they are without
52:40guilt and thus obliged...
52:42...not to act like damn
52:44fools in their
52:45relationships with
52:46Americans of African
52:48ancestry. (Laughs) That's
52:52wonderful! As my dad says
52:55in this proclamation of
52:57amnesty and pardon, that's
52:58over. Pick yourself up.
53:00And it's time to do
53:01better, and time to want
53:03for better. Walter signs
53:05that proclamation on his
53:06website, Walter E.
53:08Williams, Gracious and
53:10Generous Grantor.
53:18MUSIC
54:04Major funding for Walter
54:05Williams, Suffer No Fools
54:06was provided by Dunn's
54:08Foundation, and Searle
54:09Freedom Trust. Additional
54:12funding was provided by
54:13Beach Foundation, Harvey
54:15Cody, Donors Trust, The
54:19Hickory Foundation,
54:21William Shepard, and The
54:22Woodford Foundation for
54:24Limited Government.

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