The United States is no longer "free." That is not just a rant. That is an objective assessment based on an analysis of 10 economic factors in 183 countries.
The Heritage Foundation's 2010 Index of Economic Freedom is out, and the US slipped out of the "free" category and into the "mostly free" category, a category shared with 22 other countries such as Macau, Cyprus, Georgia and Botswana. We are now behind seven other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Switzerland and Canada. Yes, Canada.
Just behind us, in the top 10, are Denmark and Chile. The US scored 78.0 and Denmark scored 77.9. Denmark. We are virtually tied with Denmark. And not much further behind, ranking 12 and 13 respectively, are Mauritius (an island just east of sub-Saharan Africa) and Bahrain (another island, in the Persian Gulf east of the Arabian peninsula).
The economic and political liberties that are our unalienable rights; and which were formally bequeathed to us by our Founders, are slip-sliding away. Is it any wonder that Americans in growing numbers are talking about a second "American revolution"? Or that grassroots movements like the Tea Party protests have been gaining more and more momentum as people become disgusted with both the Democrats and the Republicans?
Looking at the specifics of the Heritage Foundation report, here is the reason for the decline:
The United States’ economic freedom score is 78.0, making its economy the 8th freest in the 2010 Index. Its score is 2.7 points lower than last year, reflecting notable decreases in financial freedom, monetary freedom, and property rights. The United States has fallen to 2nd place out of three countries in the North America region.
The U.S. government’s interventionist responses to the financial and economic crisis that began in 2008 have significantly undermined economic freedom and long-term prospects for economic growth. Economic freedom has declined in seven of the 10 categories measured in the Index.
Read it all.
No comments:
Post a Comment