Free Republic

When we talk about “economic freedom,” what do we mean—and why does it matter? Economic freedom is the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property. In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please, with that freedom both protected by the state and unconstrained by the state. Since reaching a global peak in 2008, sadly, economic freedom around the world has continued to stagnate. Today launches the 19th edition of the Index of Economic Freedom, produced by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall...

We wish each other "peace on earth." Wishing is not enough. We must act on this wish by promoting capitalism on earth. Too many people (including some religious leaders) are promoting the idea that re-distribution of wealth or “social justice” is the best way to foster peace. But Christians and Jews need only read the Old Testament to see that God condemns stealing and envy so much that he gave Moses commandments like: “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and “You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.” And in the New Testament, Christ promoted capitalistic...

Star Parker urges freedom-lovers to continue fight to restore America Now, suddenly, the tea party is everybody’s whipping boy. Liberals, in the wake of the election, gloat about what they see as liberalism’s return to the mainstream and cheer the end of the Republican “extremists.” And, despite the spin, which never stops in Washington, it is not accidental that four prominent tea-party congressmen have been purged from key committee posts by Speaker John Boehner. So as the Washington “establishment” cozies up to the mindset that a bloated, debt-ridden America can go on just fine as long as there is political...

Capitalism favors the rich. Socialism helps the poor. These are core beliefs of almost everybody on the left, including our president. Ah, but it turns out that this worldview is completely wrong. Economists associated with the Fraser Institute and the Cato Institute have actually found a way to measure "economic freedom" and investigate what difference it makes in 141 countries around the world. This work has been in progress for several decades now and the evidence is stark. Economies that rely on private property, free markets and free trade, and avoid high taxes, regulation and inflation, grow more rapidly than...

Baseball player Yogi Berra once said “you can see a lot just by looking.” Simple wisdom, that President Obama is not likely to heed. In order to see you have to want to look at the truth that’s actually out there. With reality so different from how our president wishes to portray it, he has little interest in seeing things as they really are. The president delivered a “Kumbaya” appeal this past week to the current session of the United Nations General Assembly. The pitch, about peaceful resolution of disputes, tolerance, and free speech, was clearly aimed at Muslim nations....

The United States, long considered the standard bearer for economic freedom among large industrial nations, has experienced a remarkable plunge in economic freedom during the past decade. From 1980 to 2000, the US was generally rated the third freest economy in the world, ranking behind only Hong Kong and Singapore. The ranking of the US has fallen precipitously; from second in 2000 to eighth in 2005 and 19th in 2010. By 2009, the United States had fallen behind Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Chile, and Mauritius, countries that chose not to follow the path of massive growth in government financed by...

Canada ranked in Top 5 for economic freedom Sarah Boesveld, National Post · Sept. 18, 2012 | Last Updated: Sept. 18, 2012 3:02 AM ET Canada has taken its place among the Top 5 countries with the most economic freedom, according to a new Fraser Institute report - now leaps and bounds ahead of the United States thanks to the gradual shrinking of the Canadian government since the mid-1990s as America's just got bigger. The annual Economic Freedom of the World report, released Tuesday, has Canada tied in fifth place with Australia - up one spot from last year. Hong...

COMMENTARY | Mitt Romney's international excursion included gaffes over Anglo-Saxon heritage and Olympic insults in England, insulting the Palestinian culture in Israel, and getting a hostile reception from the freedom-loving trade union Solidarity aware of Romney's anti-labor stands. Lost in this forgettable foreign policy trip included one of Romney's best moments, when he touted the virtues of economic liberty in Poland. The only question is Romney's commitment to such freedom, which has been in decline throughout the Bush and Obama Administrations...

Full article here, Happy Father's Day everyone! Everyone has to decide how best to raise his own children, but I would submit one important element missing from what I’ve mentioned so far: In what shape are we leaving our society and our government for our kids to inherit?It is easy not to think about this as being an integral part of parenting, since these areas are not exactly in our control. You might think that since there are so many different opinions about how our government should behave that it is pointless to focus on it and instead trust that...

ANALYSIS | A day before the Illinois primary, Mitt Romney delivered a blistering attack on President Barack Obama for "assaulting" economic freedom in a University of Chicago speech. Was he right? Using the style of Steven D. Levitt, a University of Chicago economist and co-author of the book Freakonomics, I evaluate that claim by Romney. What is economic freedom? Levitt and his co-author, Stephen J. Dubner, go beyond the politics, bias, and hubris to ask the questions and test the results. For example, what is economic freedom? The Cato Institute has come up with the Economic Freedom of the World...

ANALYSIS | A day before the Illinois primary, Mitt Romney delivered a blistering attack on President Barack Obama for "assaulting" economic freedom in a University of Chicago speech. Was he right? Using the style of Steven D. Levitt, a University of Chicago economist and co-author of the book Freakonomics, I evaluate that claim by Romney. What is economic freedom? Levitt and his co-author, Stephen J. Dubner, go beyond the politics, bias, and hubris to ask the questions and test the results. For example, what is economic freedom? The Cato Institute has come up with the Economic Freedom of the World...

Contributing the overall decline in worldwide economic freedom was the drop of the massive economy of the United States from 6th worldwide to 10th., in part due to the Obama administration creating the most rapid increase in debt in US history. This, combined with a lessening of property rights, such as the failure of the Democratic-led auto bailout restructuring team to honor the debt obligations of General Motors to its shareholders to push the US down in the index.

Good news! On economic freedom, America is in the global Top 10. Bad news: America is No. 10 — one blond hair ahead of Denmark. According to the 18th annual Index of Economic Freedom, released Thursday by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, Hong Kong enjoys the earth’s freest economy. The Chinese Special Administrative Region invariably has topped this list since it began in 1995. No. 2 Singapore leads Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Canada, Chile, Mauritius, and Ireland. Agnostic on political freedom, the Index evaluates fiscal discipline, taxes, regulations, monetary policy, rule of law, corruption, and other measures...

Politicians are like New Year's revelers whose resolutions to get fit are as habitual as their unhealthy lifestyles. The most undisciplined merrymaker continually ups the weight-loss ante —10 pounds last year, 20 pounds this year — just as undisciplined politicians alleging fiscal prudence have upped their borrowing limit 4,967 percent since 1962, 67 percent since 2009. If you thought politicians were pummeled into fiscal restraint after last summer's debt-ceiling debacle, which led to America's credit downgrade by S&P, Think Again. In fact, 2011 ended with debt reaching the new limit of $15.22 trillion compelling Treasury to request another $1.2 trillion...

Millionaire taxes wind up costing everyone more. Jay Hancock of the Baltimore Sun cannot understand why the State of Maryland is rapidly becoming devoid of the dreaded Millionaire. He can't fathom why a little thing like a 25% increase in Millionaire income taxes could possibly encourage wealthy citizens to flee the State for more Millionaire friendly climes. And Hancock is part of the problem. He, like his state's leadership, doesn't understand that self-employed high networth citizens are fleeing high tax jurisdictions all over the country. California, New York, New Jersey, Massachussets, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Illinois are all seeing these people...

Business is not a zero-sum game struggling over a fixed pie. Instead it grows and makes the total pie larger, creating value for all of its major stakeholders, including employees and communities. The success of economic freedom in increasing human prosperity, extending our life spans and improving the quality of our lives in countless ways is the most extraordinary global story of the past 200 years. Gross domestic product per capita has increased by a factor of 1,000% across the world and almost 2,000% in the U.S. during these last two centuries. In 1800, 85% of everyone alive lived on...

Some of my friends in the conservative blogosphere have been ridiculing a New Yorker named Joe Therrien. I want to put in a good word for him. Therrien appears in the lead paragraph of a story in The Nation on Occupy Wall Street. He's an example, writer Richard Kim wants us to know, of the "creative types" ingeniously protesting capitalism. It's one of those no-violence-or-anti-Semitism-here-just-nifty-people articles you find not only in the avowedly leftish Nation but also in mainstream media. Conservative bloggers and commenters have been making fun of Therrien, who quit his job as a drama teacher in New...

TORONTO, ON — Canada has surpassed the United States for levels of economic freedom, according to a new report released today by the Fraser Institute, Canada’s leading public policy think-tank. Canada ranks sixth in the world for economic freedom with score of 7.81 while the United States fell to 10th overall with a score of 7.60, according to the Economic Freedom of the World: 2011 Annual Report. But Canada’s score actually decreased this year from 7.95 in 2010, part of an overall decline in levels of economic freedom around the globe. This year’s report shows that the average economic freedom...

California currently ranks #49 among U.S. states for "business tax climate" (Tax Foundation) and #48 for for "economic freedom" (Mercatus). It shouldn't be any surprise then that companies are leaving the "Golden State" in record numbers this year (see chart above) for "golder pastures" and more business-friendly climates in other states.

Economic freedom is the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property. In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please, with that freedom both protected by the state and unconstrained by the state. Index of Economic Freedom World Rankings World Rank Country Index Year Overall Score Change from Previous Business Freedom Trade Freedom Fiscal Freedom Government Size Monetary Freedom Investment Freedom Financial Freedom Property Rights Freedom From Corruption Labor Freedom 1 Hong Kong 2011 89.7 0 98.7 90 93.3 89.6 87.1 90...