Posted on 01/06/2005 12:18:36 PM PST by Robert Drobot
AccountingWEB.com - Jan-6-2005 - For the first time ever, the U.S. does not rank among the world's 10 freest economies in the Index of Economic Freedom, published annually by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal.
The U.S.' score in the 2005 Index did not change from 2004. But improvements in the economies of Chile, Australia and Iceland enabled all three to surpass the U. S., leaving it in a tie for 12th with Switzerland and out of the top 10 for the first time in the 11-year history of the Index.
(Excerpt) Read more at accountingweb.com ...
The 2005 Index of Economic Freedom measures 161 countries against a list of 50 independent variables divided into 10 broad factors of economic freedom. Low scores are more desirable. The higher the score on a factor, the greater the level of government interference in the economy and the less economic freedom a country enjoys.
These 50 variables are grouped into the following categories:
Trade policy,
Fiscal burden of government,
Government intervention in the economy,
Monetary policy,
Capital flows and foreign investment,
Banking and finance,
Wages and prices,
Property rights,
Regulation, and
Informal market activity.
Well God Bless you!!!
Why didn't I think of that???
All this time I've been scratching my head to come up with something worthwhile, and here I've had it at my fingertips all along!!!
I don't recall what Madison's credentials as an economist were Willie, can you enlighten me?
And how his ideas on economics and trade at a time when a letter took months to reach the US from Europe, not seconds, are relevant to today's economic realities?
Well... Adam Smith or Thomas Malthus were not considered as economists at their time. Anyway, James Madison wasn't an economist, he was much more: a Founding Father of this great Nation.
You're welcome!
Besides, even Adam Smith outlined situations under which he considered tariffs to be appropriate:
In today's society, the economic burdens placed on domestic industries by the federal regulatory bureaucracy (EPA, OSHA, etc.) essentially constitute a tax. For this reason, it is valid to place a tariff on imported goods to compensate for the uneven playing field established by domestic regulations.Excerpted and condensed from:
Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations, Book 4, Chapter 2 Of Restraints upon the Importation from Foreign Countries
of such Goods as can be produced at Home
"There seem, however, to be two cases in which it will generally be advantageous to lay some burden upon foreign for the encouragement of domestic industry...
- The first is, when some particular sort of industry is necessary for the defence of the country....
- The second case, in which it will generally be advantageous to lay some burden upon foreign for the encouragement of domestic industry is, when some tax is imposed at home upon the produce of the latter. In this case, it seems reasonable that an equal tax should be imposed upon the like produce of the former....
A war, having come in with a collapsed stock market and a terror attack on the nation explains the deficit.
He's done well with what was given him in the Office.
You can remove your capital from the US without moving your residence.
US government spending on socialist medicine very nearly meets or exceeds that of European nations.
The last time I checked the terms of energy production are dictated by the US government and you need government permission/id to move about the united States.
Very good! I'm not against "Restraints upon the Importation", but to subsidies to certain sector (agriculture etc.) and our domestic Tax System.
Socialist medicine is available to all Americans.
To be Number 1 again, first kill all the lawyers.
Yes he was.
My great-grandfather was the Founder of our family, and while he was a great businessman in his day, his business techniques would not be suitable for today's business world, so we do not conduct business based on one hundred year old business methods.
As an example, my great-grandfather would never have imagined borrowing money to expand his business, yet, if he were alive today, and looking at today's business world, he would consider anyone NOT financing growth with borrowed capital insane.
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