Posted on 06/17/2011 5:27:30 PM PDT by Eric Blair 2084
This study comprehensively ranks the American states on their public policies that affect individual freedoms in the economic, social, and personal spheres. It updates, expands, and improves upon our inaugural 2009 Freedom in the 50 States study. For this new edition, we have added more policy variables (such as bans on trans fats and the audio recording of police, Massachusettss individual health-insurance mandate, and mandated family leave), improved existing measures (such as those for fiscal policies, workers compensation regulations, and asset-forfeiture rules), and developed specific policy prescriptions for each of the 50 states based on our data and a survey of state policy experts. With a consistent time series, we are also able to discover for the first time which states have improved and worsened in regard to freedom recently.
This project develops an index of economic and personal freedom in the American states. Specifically, it examines state and local government intervention across a wide range of public policies, from income taxation to gun control, from homeschooling regulation to drug policy.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercatus.org ...
2. Not shockingly, the bluest states are the least free.
The Democratic Peoples Republic of NY, CA, NJ are dead last.
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We the People Sheeple of the United States Nanny State, in Order to form a more perfect Union Socialist Utopia, establish Justice Socially engineer a country of non smoking, physically fit, seat belt and helmet wearing teetotalers, ensure domestic Tranquility Smoking bans in bars, limits on unhealthy food and social drinking, provide for the common defense Universal Healthcare, promote the general Welfare health of the population whether they like it or not, in order to save above mentioned Universal Healthcare entitlement program from bankruptcy, and secure the Blessings of Liberty Dependency to ourselves progressive liberals and our Posterity Hitler Youth who we brainwash through public school education, do ordain decree and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Nanny State of Liberals.
Yeah! Way to go California! “We’re not last...we’re not last..” yeesh...
“keep in mind”
....that this attempt to quantify liberty is by...
“a LIBERTARIAN think tank”
Keep in mind Eric, what you just posted.
Gee, maybe I ought to quit plotting to leave Oregon for Washington.
Gee, maybe I ought to quit plotting to leave Oregon for Washington.
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MIping
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Thank GOODNESS it’s a Libertarian group!
This think tank with Jason Sorens also put Alaska at the bottom (44 out of 50). That’s the Jason Sorens of Free State Project infamy. I was a member of the FSP for a few years and thus know that Jason has even less grounding in the realities of state and local politics and economics than Obama.
Many of their individual criteria or ratings are graded from an idealistic anarcho-libertarian perspective. They ignore the reality facing which are relatively large, sparsely populated, resource dependent and military installation intensive.
State Freedom Rankings
1. New Hampshire
2. South Dakota
3. Indiana
4. Idaho
5. Missouri
6. Nevada
7. Colorado
8. Oregon
9. Virginia
10. North Dakota
11. Florida
12. Oklahoma
13. Iowa
14. Texas
15. Georgia
16. Tennessee
17. Kansas
18. North Carolina
19. Alabama
20. Utah
21. Wyoming
22. Arizona
23. Nebraska
24. Mississippi
25. Wisconsin
26. South Carolina
27. Michigan
28. Arkansas
29. Montana
30. Vermont
31. Pennsylvania
32. Kentucky
33. Maine
34. Minnesota
35. Louisiana
36. West Virginia
37. New Mexico
38. Connecticut
39. Delaware
40. Washington
41. Illinois
42. Ohio
43. Maryland
44. Alaska
45. Rhode Island
46. Massachusetts
47. Hawaii
48. California
49. New Jersey
50. New York
Surprise, surprise, surprise
New Hampshire is #1 on Jason Sorens list.
There is a hidden agenda in that last.
This is a thinly veiled attempt to rig the list to attempt to boost the floundering Free State Project in New Hampshire.
To get the FSP members to pick New Hampshire in the election among ten candidate states for the FSP, Jason and the FSP boosters of New Hampshire not only cherry picked “statistics” to make New Hampshire look better, they outright lied in addition to using gross overstatments about New Hampshire.
Surprise, surprise, surprise
New Hampshire is #1 on Jason Sorens list.
There is a hidden agenda in that last.
This is a thinly veiled attempt to rig the list to attempt to boost the floundering Free State Project in New Hampshire.
To get the FSP members to pick New Hampshire in the election among ten candidate states for the FSP, Jason and the FSP boosters of New Hampshire not only cherry picked “statistics” to make New Hampshire look better, they outright lied in addition to using gross overstatments about New Hampshire.
The cross plots are interesting though.
If it were up to me I would rank Michigan higher on the personal freedom scale because we do pretty much as we please outside the cities anyway.
Seems to be a somewhat subjective rating system.
LIBERTARIAN FOR LIFE PING!
Having Levin and Levin Jr. as ‘representatives” seems to have a certain freedom limiting feeling.
Not only subjective, but unfairly and even wrongly weighted too heavily on some economic factors.
Remember the authors are big "L" Libertarians who have little clue about life outside their anarchist utopian dreams.
So what would be an example of an unfair or wrong weighting?
Or, put another way, what's wrong with New Hampshire that would be improved by taking on some of the characteristics of states at the other end of the ratings list?
Or, which state do you think should be #1 for freedom?
Wonder why Alaska is so far down?
Happy to be living in #4
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