The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Claire Berlinski, Ed. ·
January 13, 2012 at 5:30pm
There's no excuse, ever, for the United States of America--the United States of America!-to rank behind Chile and Mauritius in economic freedom. We're number 10. This is simply a disgrace. We should be at the top of that chart, and we should be leaving the runner-up in the dust, gasping for breath, every single year.
If we can't even do this one thing right--"economic freedom"--exactly why are still pretending we're the exceptional nation?
Go down that list: Notice the direct correlation between lack of economic freedom and what the economists might call "advanced basketcasehood"?
Scores, maps and book chapters from the Index of Economic Freedom.webarchive. Read it and weep.
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Mar '11
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
There is no excuse for us not being in the top tier.
Canuckistan is above us (okay, yes, geographically, but also on the list)!
Perhaps even more surprising to some will be: we're in the same category as Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, and Sweden.
Apr '11
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Couldn't agree more. I suppose what I find most distressing, apart from our slide as a nation, is that this isn't simply a case of being asleep at the switch, is it? There are those of us for whom this is an important, galvanizing issue and those of us, I'm speaking of the broader community of fellow Americans here, that are committed, for reasons they consider moral imperatives, to pushing us further down that list. "Freedom" is less important that certain kinds of "certainty" in their minds. They are our implacable enemies in this struggle, using the term enemies advisedly, and, I fear, we are losing the rhetorical battle.
Edited on January 13, 2012 at 5:49pmMar '11
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
I can’t remember who it was (Mollie?) a few months back had a post on economic freedom by state and made an excellent point.
She thought on economic indexes, federalist countries like U.S./Canada/India ranks should be broken out by providences/states. There is a huge gap in economic freedom regionally in these nations. I thought it was a great point.
I would add any area that is regionally autonomous for the most part like Scotland, or the three regions in Iraq should also be split out. Hong Kong should not be the only exception to this (it is part of China).
So the real question is how economically free is the state you live in compared to other countries. I think it would me fascinating to rank each state separately then compile a weighted average based on population and see how this differs from only looking at the country.
Edited on January 13, 2012 at 6:19pmMar '11
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Of the nine countries above us, five of them have a positive trend. Of the four countries trending downwards, Ireland, at #9, is going down faster than we are.
So cheer up, everybody! If we maintain the course that our courageous President has set for us, we'll be number nine next year!
May '11
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Interesting that 5 of the top 6 were once governed by Britain, while the UK now lags well behind.
I'd also point out that there are some distortions in the way the overall scores are determined ( would you really prefer to do business in Kazakhstan than Italy ? ).
Still, must do better....
Aug '10
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
It was totally me. Me me me!!!
Apr '11
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Claire, we have to have all of those regulations or else we will get more "vulture capitalism"!
May '10
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Israel, "The Startup Nation" is behind Oman, the UAE, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Botswana??? Really?
I'm not an economist but something's gotta be wrong with the data somewhere.
Jan '11
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Sorry, Ms. Berlinski, I'm still proud to be an American, but I'm embarrassed to have Obama as our president, and embarrassed for our education system which I hold responsible for the light-mindedness of too many of my fellow citizens who supported this man.
I'll leave being embarrassed for America to the likes of Michelle Obama.
Aug '10
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Crow's Nest: There is no excuse for us not being in the top tier.
Canuckistan is above us (okay, yes, geographically, but also on the list)!
One COULD interpret the situation that Canuckistani finances merely scraped bottom 20 years (or so) before the USA, so the Canuckistani government was forced to reform its spending vs. revenue earlier.
Keep in mind, by the late 80s/early 90s, Canada's fiscal situation was SO bad that it was facing major credit rating downgrades and was being described as a virtual third-world nation.
Maybe government spending is like a smack addict? You gotta hit bottom before you can get your life back on track?
We had Trudeau from 1968 until 1984. That's 16 years!
You guys will (hopefully) get rid of Obama after only 4 years.
Jul '10
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Grantman: Israel, "The Startup Nation" is behind Oman, the UAE, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Botswana??? Really?
I'm not an economist but something's gotta be wrong with the data somewhere. · Jan 13 at 9:49am
Just because Israel is a stronger economy doesn't automatically mean it is more economically free than the countries you mentioned. I'm not sure about Jordan or Botswana, but Oman, UAE, Qatar and Bahrain are all apart of a coterie of fast-growing "Gulf Tiger" economies who have been and are continuing to open up their own markets to foreign investment and trade, and are reducing barriers to market entry domestically. They're doing quite well for themselves, too. Bahrain and Qatar are largely resource-based economies, but Dubai, a huge, dynamic and culturally open international economic hub, is located in the UAE. Oman is the most impressive to me since it has few resources, nor does it have a sophisticated financial system, but pro-market reforms have lead to steady domestically driven growth.
Edited on January 13, 2012 at 8:54pmAug '10
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
<devil's advocate mode = on>
Every country that ranks ahead of the USA has "universal health care" in one form or another.
<devil's advocate mode = off>
Discuss.
Jan '11
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Misthiocracy: <devil's advocate mode = on>
Every country that ranks ahead of the USA has "universal health care" in one form or another.
<devil's advocate mode = off>
Discuss. · Jan 13 at 11:54am
<brain = on>
Quite right, but it's because the USA provides the defense which allows them to build their ortherwise unsustainable social network systems. If the USA fails, they're all gone - including their health care systems..
<brain = on>
Jul '10
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Anon
Misthiocracy: <devil's advocate mode = on>
Every country that ranks ahead of the USA has "universal health care" in one form or another.
<devil's advocate mode = off>
Discuss. · Jan 13 at 11:54am
<brain = on>
Quite right, but it's because the USA provides the defense which allows them to build their ortherwise unsustainable social network systems. If the USA fails, they're all gone - including their health care systems..
<brain = on> · Jan 13 at 12:05pm
That is not true for Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Chile or Mauritius.
But I'm more fascinated than outraged. The top two are autonomous cities dominated by ethnic Chinese that are now international trade and finance hubs. Next are the two major economies of Oceania. Number five is that quirky, perennial standout. The rest are a spattering of small, (traditionally) fast-growing economies, and North American heavyweights.
Moral of the story is, if you're European, you aren't Switzerland and you're not tiny, you're probably a few steps closer to a control economy than you should be in today's global market.
Apr '11
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Humza Ahmad
That is not true for Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, ....
Moral of the story is, if you're European, you aren't Switzerland and you're not tiny, you're probably a few steps closer to a control economy than you should be in today's global market. · Jan 13 at 1:05pm
Yes, because without the US Navy patrolling and protecting the merchant sea lanes in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, these countries would still be as prosperous as they are today.
As for tiny Switz, they actually have a hybrid private/gov't HC system from which we could learn much! Oh, and they are very strict on immigration unlike their overrun neighbors all around them.
No need to worry about any of this though. With Obama's new SBA cabinet level position, I can smell the increase in economic freedom coming our way!!!
Edited on January 13, 2012 at 11:27pmApr '11
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
I am surprised anyone is surprised at our position. How many decades has wealth distribution been the operating function of our government.
I recall when I was a young fellar hearing Ted Kennedy explain that the purpose of the tax code was to redistribute wealth. With a puzzled look on my face I asked my father what the heck does that mean because it certianly couldn't be what it sounds like. Oh no, it was exactly what it sounded like. Not the people covering Kennedy on the news or anyone else even questioned the idea.
Obama told Joe the Plumber that he needed to spread the wealth around and large swaths of the population said "yeah, sounds about right."
And he has been to the best of his ability "YES WE CAN!"
May '11
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Wow, go Canada!
Oct '11
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Grantman: Israel, "The Startup Nation" is behind Oman, the UAE, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Botswana??? Really?
I'm not an economist but something's gotta be wrong with the data somewhere. · Jan 13 at 9:49am
I grew up in Botswana - amazing country, and deserving of every mark. A lot of that freedom could only be realized with support from diamond wealth, but it's still got the right idea when it comes to statist planning. Here's Tupy writing for Cato on the subject.
Nov '10
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Channeling Ms. Obama in reverse?
Apr '11
Re: The Index of Economic Freedom is Out, and I'm Embarrassed to be an American
Claire, I have a question, not meant to be offensive: Did you change "reason" to "excuse" in your opening sentence?