Join American economist and columnist Walter Williams as he discusses what influenced his unique, and often controversial, perspectives on economics. Williams is a unique thinker. Despite being African American he opposes the minimum wage, affirmative action, and believes the welfare state has done far more harm than good for those living in poverty. Although those views are major parts of his philosophy now, he didn’t always hold those views.

As Walter Williams says about one of those revelations, “I thought that the minimum wage like many, many other Americans who have not really thought about it, was a really good idea, was a good way to help the poor. And it was a real eye opener after I took economics that the minimum wage was, perhaps, one of the most devastating things that you could do to poor or low skilled workers. So I thought that increasing government control would be a good thing or helpful thing to people in general and it was a shock to me as a young economic student to learn that government is the cause of many of our problems as opposed to being the solution to those problems.”

So what led him to these beliefs? Listen to the full interview in the latest episode of The Free To Choose Media Podcast to find out.