Last year after the State of the Union address, I posted: "Funny, Obama didn't mention Economic Freedom." That was probably because the U.S. had fallen to No. 9, with a score of 77.8 out of 100.
( In 2007 we were No. 4, with a score of 82.0. )
This year he didn't mention it either... and we've fallen to 10th place (76.3).
.... Although the foundations of economic freedom remain strong, recent government interventions have eroded limits on government, and public spending by all levels of government now exceeds one-third of total domestic output. The regulatory burden on business continues to increase rapidly, and heightened uncertainty further increases regulations’ negative impact. Fading confidence in the government’s determination to promote or even sustain open markets has discouraged entrepreneurship and dynamic investment within the private sector.
Restoring the U.S. economy to the status of a “free” economy will require significant policy changes to reduce the size of government, overhaul the tax system, and transform costly entitlement programs. By boosting growth in the private sector, such freedom-enhancing policies are the best hope for bringing down high unemployment rates and reducing public debt to manageable levels.
Economically FREE countries (100-80)
1. Hong Kong
2. Singapore
3. Australia
4. New Zealnd
5. Switzerland
"Mostly" FREE (79.9 - 70)
6. Canada
7. Chile
8. Mauritius
9. Ireland
10. United States
11. Denmark
12. Bahrain
13. Luxembourg
14. United Kingdom
15. The Netherland
16. Estonia
17. Finland
18. Taiwan
19. Macau
20. Cyprus
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