Art credit: canwebelieveit.info
Not good news from Breitbart:
US
Slips To 12th In Economic Freedom
A new report of
"economic freedom" around the world finds the US ranked 12th among
152 countries, tied with the United Kingdom, and lower than neighbor Canada or
Australia. The index,
published by the Cato Institute and Canada's Fraser Institute, has been
published since 1996. As recently as 2000, the US ranked 2nd in the world, in
terms of boasting a free economy. The US's declining ranking will lower future
economic growth.
The index, built on decades of research by Nobel laureates and
dozens of leading scholars,measures 5 broad
factors that impact the economy: 1. Size of government; 2.
Legal structure and security of property rights; 3. Access to sound money; 4.
Freedom to trade internationally and; 5. Regulation of Credit, Labor and
Business. Countries where citizens are freer to engage in business and trade
and property and legal rights are protected by the rule of law will score
higher on the index. According to economic research, though, these countries
will also do better economically and create and generate more wealth.
The 10 freest economies in the world are: Hong Kong, Singapore,
New Zealand, Switzerland, Mauritius, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Australia,
Jordan, and Chile and Finland tied for 10th.
America's descent down the ladder of economic freedom is
unsettling, in itself. More troubling, however, is the chief factor behind the
US decline. The biggest drop in US economic freedom has been in the country's
legal structure. The report notes that,
"increased use of eminent domain to transfer property to powerful
political interests, the ramifications of the wars on terrorism and drugs, and
the violation of the property rights of bondholders in the auto-bailout case
have weakened the tradition of strong adherence to the rule of law in United
States."
The rule of law has long been the foundation of America's
economic prosperity and liberty. The US ranking in this area has plummeted to a
terrible 36th place in the world. This, combined with increased regulation is
stifling US economic growth. The report observes, "[t]o a large degree,
the United States has experienced a significant move away from rule of law and
toward a highly regulated, politicized, and heavily policed state."
Read the rest here.
