Posted on 02/04/2022 6:57:15 AM PST by Enlightened1
Only a state with the motto “Live Free or Die” is freer than the Sunshine State.
That’s according to the nonprofit CATO Institute’s annual Freedom in the 50 States report, which compares states based on different aspects of autonomy and choice in key policy areas. The report uses hundreds of variables to gauge states on fiscal, regulatory and personal terms.
Overall, Florida came in second to New Hampshire in the 2021 ranking that used 2019 data to compare states.
The CATO Institute bills itself as a libertarian public policy think tank that promotes limited government, free markets and peace.
It highlighted the state’s lack of a personal income tax and warm weather as the pied-pipers of not just well-heeled retirees but also business professionals looking to make the most of their labor.
“Florida does especially well on economic freedom, and even more so on fiscal policy. Indeed, it is our top state on both,” the report said. “Regulatory policy is improved but mediocre compared with the fiscal side.”
Florida’s freedom metrics lagged due to heavy incarceration rates, onerous occupational licensing requirements, state-level health insurance mandates, and the cost of gun control laws on owners and dealers.
To make the state freer, CATO suggests Florida decentralize taxing and spending powers from counties to municipalities, reform its occupational licensing system to remove barriers of entry into careers, and enact criminal justice reforms.
While New Hampshire was this year’s freest state, nearby New York came in last.
That Liberal Paradise? Say it ain't so, Joe!.............
Interesting to me that my location of Indiana is #6 and Illinois right next door is #37.
But we still have net out-migration so it’s all good!
Decentralize taxing from the counties, What idiots, PA has 3 levels of taxation, state, county and local, add in schools and you have 4. You literally pay 3 separate real estate taxes on your home. 1 check to the school, 1 check to the county and 1 to your local municipality, plus state income tax and local municipality income tax, same for a business. County level tax is perfect.ALL and I mean ALL my taxes are paid at the county bldg, car registration, licensing, etc. one stop shop for all dealing with the government. No dealing with anything in Tallahassee, no local garbage to deal with and the county, i.e., government workers are all of the nicest people you ever want to meet. Fast, polite and efficient. This works. The county that contains Pittsburgh has 32, that’s right 32 school districts in it, each with its own power and taxing structure and authority, own buses, etc. No county level schools in PA, at least in western PA. That means 32 different elected tax collector’s, thats right, the school districts each have an elected tax collector to collect their taxes for them. Try being an employer, You are required to withhold each employee local income tax which varies from locale to locale. We had about 40 employees and 12 different local income tax jurisdictions we had to withhold for on top of all the other taxes like anywhere else.
Cato, another useless academic like institution staffed with those who have never lived real life, living in theory, the losers in life’s lottery, ala, Dick Gephardt, just idiots
To each his own. My guess is that you really don’t know the real Florida. There are parts that are awful, but mostly hover around the bigger cities. Get off the highway and take the back roads. You’ll find some neat vistas if you open your eyes.
I can’t get the link to open but I’m betting more red states are at the top of ‘free’ and more blue states stink of totalitarian...
Just a guess...
Talking about Florida now in my previous post.
Yeah, CoVid lockdowns obviously not part of this analysis.
Having tax authority at county level is okay for Florida. There are a lot of small towns and unincorporated areas. More important would be to change commercial real estate valuation from “highest and best use” to “income” basis.
ICWYDT
Which is why we moved from the People’s Republic of NY to Live Free or Die NH.
With their left turn signal blinking...
NH is a Constitutional Carry state.
What licensing program for guns does NH have? I haven’t encountered any.
I apologize. You are right they are libertarians aka liberaltarians and there is actually a difference between being a liberal and a liberaltarian though not nearly as much as some would have us believe. And yes, liberaltarian actually is a word.
Looking over their review they do not even mention property tax rates. Seems like an oversight, but it is actually a finger on the scale to give an advantage to states that their ideology favors. Whether being liberaltarians actually means that they are freedom lovers is up to debate. An even better measure that they left out of their reviews are the status of Covid lockdowns in the various states.
NH, at the moment, is in Republican control in all four branches of the government and they have bene busily passing good legislation to protect our freedoms and rights, especially gun ones.
Just hover over it and click it one time.
Then go to the top of your State and click each catagory.
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Interesting, NV is #3. having our idiot governor copycat (he liked to do whatever Newsome told him to do until the casinos had enough of losing money) we don’t feel all that free. Sisolak totally embraced all the mandates.
Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona, all the states that resulted in “freedom dropping” with the election has a better freedom ranking than my state of South Carolina?
Yeah right! I dont see everyone moving to Wisconsin but they sure are moving here to SC.
Seems like this should be top 5:
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Tennessee
4. South Dakota
5. South Carolina.
NH allows people to vote with very little ID. That does not result in Freedom in the long run. I have never bought into the NH is a “freedom state” theory.
I noticed legality of marijuana and sports betting are factors too.
It all depends on who is scoring the game I guess.
😉
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