Too bad our legislators won't make that the percentage cap here in the U.S. Of course, they don't have any problem voting themselves a pay raise every year.
There already are several. (All having reformed since Gulf War I, but of course you won't hear that from the "war doesn't solve anything" crowd.) According to the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom, Bahrain and the U.A.E. have more free economies than Tawain, Israel, Japan or France. Kuwait's is as free as France's, and Qatar nearly so. The column heads got stripped, but the overall score (the lower the better) immediately follows the year (which is the last time the country was evaluated):
| Overall rank |
Country | Year | |||||||||||
| 1 | Hong Kong | 2003 | 1.45 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
| 2 | Singapore | 2003 | 1.50 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| 3 | Luxembourg | 2003 | 1.70 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| 5 | Ireland | 2003 | 1.75 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
| 6 | United States | 2003 | 1.80 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
| 9 | United Kingdom | 2003 | 1.85 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
| 15 | Switzerland | 2003 | 1.95 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| 16 | Bahrain | 2003 | 2.00 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| 16 | Chile | 2003 | 2.00 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.5 |
| 19 | Belgium | 2003 | 2.10 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
| 24 | United Arab Emirates | 2003 | 2.20 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| 27 | Taiwan (China, Republic of) | 2003 | 2.30 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 |
| 33 | Israel | 2003 | 2.45 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.5 |
| 35 | Japan | 2003 | 2.50 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
| 40 | France | 2003 | 2.55 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
| 40 | Kuwait | 2003 | 2.55 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
| 44 | Qatar | 2003 | 2.65 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 |
| 52 | Korea, Republic of (South Korea) |
2003 | 2.70 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| 62 | Jordan | 2003 | 2.85 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| 68 | Saudi Arabia | 2003 | 2.95 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| 104 | Egypt | 2003 | 3.35 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| 119 | Turkey | 2003 | 3.50 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| 127 | China, People's Republic of | 2003 | 3.55 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| 143 | Syria | 2003 | 3.95 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| 153 | Zimbabwe | 2003 | 4.40 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| 156 | Korea, Democratic People's Republic of (North Korea) |
2003 | 5.00 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |