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US drops out of top ten in 2014

Tam

Well-known member
U.S. Drops from Top Ten Freest Countries in 2014 Index of Economic Freedom
By Alec Torres .
January 14, 2014 12:45 PM

In the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation’s recently released 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, the United States has dropped from the list of the top ten freest economies in the world. Over the past year the U.S. moved from the tenth-freest economy to the twelfth.

The index measures ten different factors and compares countries based on their regulatory efficiency, size of government, rule of law, and the openness of their markets. Each of the factors is measured on a scale of 1 to 100, and the country’s overall score is the average of each factor. For the 2014 index, the data cover the last half of 2012 to the first half of 2013.

When President Obama took office in 2009, the U.S. was ranked the sixth freest economy. It is the only country in the world to have recorded a loss of economic freedom each of the past seven years.

Since 2006, the U.S. has “suffered a dramatic decline of almost six points, with particularly large losses in property rights, freedom from corruption, and control of government spending,” according to the report. “Substantial expansion in the size and scope of government, including through new and costly regulations in areas like finance and health care, has contributed significantly to the erosion of U.S. economic freedom. The growth of government has been accompanied by increasing cronyism that has undermined the rule of law and perceptions of fairness.”

Hong Kong tops the charts for the 20th consecutive year. Others in the top-ten list include Singapore, Switzerland, and America’s neighbor to the north, Canada. North Korea and Cuba occupy the index’s lowest ranks.

Canada is actually 6th where US USED TO BE. :wink:
 

Steve

Well-known member
How can this be? Why the steep downward slide? The answer starts and ends with a government that can't say "no" to its urge to expand its role forever.

Consequently, America's ranking has fallen in all areas that the report measures. In size of government, it is ranked 59th out of 152 countries. Our legal system and security of property rights ranks 30th, while our freedom to trade internationally is 43rd.

Worse, the U.S. is a true regulatory state, ranking 121st in credit market regulation and 33rd in business regulations.

The trouble with less-free economies is their universal poor performance. The freer a country's economy, the more prosperous its people. The less free, the more miserable.

As the report says, "economic freedom ... makes people richer, but it also makes them happier."

Despite the clear advantages produced by a free economy, the U.S. is moving away in the wrong direction. It is a shift that will have severe consequences.
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/092013-671953-america-has-fallen-to-worlds-17th-most-free-economy.htm
 

Steve

Well-known member
another look at freedom,...

World Freedom Index 2013: Canadian Fraser Institute Ranks Countries

Though Americans pride themselves on living in the "land of the free and the home of the brave," per the Star-Spangled Banner, The Canadian Fraser Institute has some news for the United States: It's not tops in the world when it comes to freedom.

That's right; the Canadian think-tank ranks the U.S. just seventh in its ranking of most and least free countries for 2013.

According to the South China Morning Post, the index described personal freedom as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, discrimination against homosexuals and women's rights. Economic freedoms were understood to include property sovereignty and "individuals' engagement in voluntary transactions."

No. 9 (Tie): Estonia

No. 9 (Tie): Japan

No. 7 (Tie): Denmark

No. 7 (Tie): United States

No. 4 (Tie): Ireland

No. 4 (Tie): Canada

No. 4 (Tie): Australia

No. 3 (Tie): Hong Kong

No. 2: Netherlands

No. 1: New Zealand

I might look at the factors differently.. .. take our 2nd amendment.. I consider it a right and a point of freedom.. yet in several of the countries above they have little to no 2nd amendment style rights

yet they rank higher in freedom.. I guess it is just perspective and what a person believes makes them free..

one thing I know for sure.. we have LOST alot of our freedom in just my lifetime..
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Steve said:
I might look at the factors differently.. .. take our 2nd amendment.. I consider it a right and a point of freedom.. yet in several of the countries above they have little to no 2nd amendment style rights

yet they rank higher in freedom.. I guess it is just perspective and what a person believes makes them free..

one thing I know for sure.. we have LOST alot of our freedom in just my lifetime..

You are putting a different weighting on different factors, not necessarily looking at factors differently.

The Fraser institute puts a "weighting" on each freedom and combines the numbers.

I assume that is what you meant to say.
 
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