Posted on 02/01/2016 9:30:58 AM PST by Olog-hai
Millions of people around the world are emerging from poverty thanks to rising economic freedom. But by sharp contrast, America's economic freedom has been on a declining path over the past decade.
According to the 2016 Index of Economic Freedom, an annual publication by The Heritage Foundation, America's economic freedom has tumbled. With losses of economic freedom in eight of the past nine years, the U.S. has tied its worst score ever, wiping out a decade of progress.
The U.S. has fallen from the 6th freest economy in the world, when President Barack Obama took office, to 11th place in 2016. America's declining score in the index is closely related to rapidly rising government spending, subsidies, and bailouts. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at dailysignal.com ...
It has, but it also declined under Bush too. The Welfare State is a lumbering beast that takes more and more and more. Unless you have a conservative in power who vigorously fights against it, it will expand. Under Bush, slowly, under Obama, quickly.
I don’t think anyone was attempting to exonerate Obama’s predecessor. Liberals are liberals no matter the party label.
If I recall correctly this survey gives points for things we don’t want and things that destroy our economic freedom.
For example: Import tariffs if we had them protect our industry from predator countries like China. But this survey considers them bad.
It’s like saying personal freedom is low in America because the US has a strong military.
Young Americans have no idea what economic growth feels like.
LOL! Not according to the lyin’ king. EVERYBODY has a job making a $100K minimum to hear him (yech!) speak.
Such are the consequences for defying the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God.
Economic freedom should be of direct importance to all Americans. As a consumer, employee, employer, or investor, Americans benefit directly from economic freedom.
Investors around the world would be smart to favor countries that have more economic freedom. America is now a less attractive place to invest than when we had more economic freedom.
Private sector investing is the key to prosperity. From the time George Washington paid off our national debt (much of it owed to foreigners) to the present, the United States has been a favorite place to invest. This is what has made America prosperous.
The steel industry, farm equipment, steel, railroads, oil, gasoline, automobiles, airplanes, electricity, personal computers, the internet, shale oil, etc. all owe their existence primarily to private sector investing. We generally got these things early and on a large scale because we were always one of the most free countries.
We took a giant step back with the Smoot-Hawley tariffs which caused the great depression. We take a step back with higher taxes and loads of regulation. We take a step forward when we cut taxes and deregulate.
Socialists turn to government as the key to prosperity. Modern day Peronistas turn to tariffs (also government). Unions turn to labor organizing, baseball bats, and forced unionization.
They may all mean well. But they are all mistaken. Mistaken policy leads to bad results regardless of intent.
Private sector investing is putting Americans back to work in the shale oil industry. More private sector investing can put everyone back to work. Less private sector investing can continue the slide to second or third world status, or quickly lead to another depression.
I know people want a silver bullet such as tariffs. They don’t work. Like it or not, the only way for us to become prosperous again is to earn it. Focus on the consumer, focus on the investor. If you make them happy, a lot more people will be hired: from Facebook, to oil, to automobiles, to farming, to barbers, painters, doctors, engineers, etc.
With the Sixteenth Amendment in the way, the path back to tariffs (the way the federal government was funded in the past) is blocked, even if you get the regulation and corporate taxation out of the way. And there is also the deleterious effect of the Federal Reserve and all federal welfare programs including infrastructure.
‘Indeed, as The Wall Street Journal recently summed it up succinctly, Obama is “a champion when it comes to limiting economic freedom, and American workers have the slow growth in jobs and wages to prove it.”
Doesn’t Trump promise tariffs on Mexican goods?
There is a good video at linked site.
Yes. And Japanese, and Chinese as well.
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