Do you agree or disagree with Milton Friedman in the monetary policy
cannot effect the interest rate in the long run.

Well like Keynes (sp?) said "Im the long run we are all dead".

Milton may be right, but in the real world some country is always
going to be tweeking their money.

JMK also said : 'the long term is for undergraduates'

Personally I reckon Friedman was totally wrong, the money supply is
incredibly difficult to measure
- sure one can blast liquidity into an economy and generate inflation
- but just because something can be used destructively, it does not
mean that it can be used constructively

I also reckon that governments do have quite a lot of control over the
rate of interest, after all they tend to be the biggest single
borrower
- and they can invent rules that warp the market (eg: the UK pensions
rules created a shortage of long term Govt stock)

BS. Its one of the most powerful controls. In our case (US) as our
dollar is purposely devalued (by money printing) foreign investors
will require higher interest rates on their investments or they'll
pull their money out. The rate will have to exceed the devaluation and
differential rate in their country. Foreigners control out rates long
term, the FED dicks around with short term rates.