Advocates of economic freedom and personal choice across the United States will gather to com-
memorate what would have been Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman's 96th birthday tomorrow. The Friedman Foundation for Education Choice says 50 organizations in 41 states and the District of Columbia will celebrate Dr. Friedman's legacy of liberty at various events around the country.

In addition, Young Americans for Freedom and Townhall.com will host a live chat session with ABCNews 20/20 reporter John Stossel from 1:30-2:30 PM Eastern Standard Time to discuss Friedman's life and work.

One of the foremost intellectual proponents of free markets unconstricted by the fumbling hands of state planners and regulators, Friedman spent his life discovering and teaching "that when government attempts to substitute its own judgments for the judgments of free people, the results are usually disastrous," the Cato Institute noted in 2002 when Friedman was honored at a White House ceremony celebrating his 90th birthday.

While Friedman "never claimed that free markets are perfect," the Cato article said, he established and verified time and again "that even an imperfect market produces better results than arrogant experts and grasping bureaucrats."