U.S. At The Bottom of Top 10 in Economic Freedom Under The Obama Administration

Ranking of Economic Freedom 2012

Mike Brownfield - The Foundry, Heritage Foundation: So you think you're free? Thanks to big government spending and exploding debt, the United States -- and indeed the world -- is less economically free today than it was a year ago, according to the 18th annual Index of Economic Freedom, released yesterday by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal.

Economic freedom -- the ability of individuals to control the fruits of their labor and pursue their dreams -- is central to prosperity around the world. Heritage and The Wall Street Journal measure economic freedom by studying its pillars: the rule of law, limited government, regulatory efficiency, and open markets. Things like property rights, freedom from corruption, government spending, free trade, labor policies, and one's ability to invest in and create businesses all factor in to a country's economic freedom.

Sadly, economic freedom declined worldwide in 2011 as many countries attempted -- without success -- to spend their way out of recession. The editors of the Index explain what has led to this troubling decline:

Rapid expansion of government, more than any market factor, appears to be responsible for flagging economic dynamism. Government spending has not only failed to arrest the economic crisis, but also--in many countries--seems to be prolonging it. The big-government approach has led to bloated public debt, turning an economic slowdown into a fiscal crisis with economic stagnation fueling long-term unemployment.

Though some might think that the United States -- the land of the free, the home of the brave -- is of course a leader in economic freedom, they would be wrong. The United States fell to 10th place in the world for economic freedom, and its score continues to drop. The U.S. ranked 6th in 2009, 8th in 2010 and 9th in 2011.

Heritage President Ed Feulner writes, "Under President Barack Obama, [the United States] has moved to the back of the band. Its economic freedom score has dropped to 76.3 in 2012 from 81.2 in 2007 (on a scale of 0-100)." The culprit? Government spending, which has grown to a level equivalent to over 40 percent of GDP, and total public debt, which exceeds the size of the economy. . . . [Read More]

---

Tags: economy, free markets, Index of Economic Freedom, economic freedom, United States, jobs, Morning Bell, trade, unemployment To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!