The United States ranked 18th in a recent study on worldwide economic
freedom, falling behind countries such as Finland, Chile, Mauritius,
and Qatar.
The annual Economic Freedom of the World report examined data from 144 countries, considering 42 different variables to determine the degree to which a given country is “economically free.”
Variables included size of government, legal systems, property rights, free trade, and market regulation. The countries were then rated and ranked accordingly.
After decades of being ranked among the world’s freest economies, according to the report, the U.S. has steadily declined from 3rd in 2000 to 8th in 2005 to 18th in 2010, the most recent year for which complete statistics are available.
“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,” the report said.
The country’s declining rank should come as no surprise given President Barack Obama’s policies over the past several years, experts said.
“There is a clear, direct line between Obama’s policies and the decline in ranking,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former White House budget director and president of the American Action Forum. “High debt and deficits, the regulatory burden. This administration is not committed to economic freedoms, and it’s troubling that we’ve declined because we’re losing our competitive edge.”
Yuval Levin, Hertog Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, concurred.
Read more: http://freebeacon.com/losing-ground/
The annual Economic Freedom of the World report examined data from 144 countries, considering 42 different variables to determine the degree to which a given country is “economically free.”
Variables included size of government, legal systems, property rights, free trade, and market regulation. The countries were then rated and ranked accordingly.
After decades of being ranked among the world’s freest economies, according to the report, the U.S. has steadily declined from 3rd in 2000 to 8th in 2005 to 18th in 2010, the most recent year for which complete statistics are available.
“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,” the report said.
The country’s declining rank should come as no surprise given President Barack Obama’s policies over the past several years, experts said.
“There is a clear, direct line between Obama’s policies and the decline in ranking,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former White House budget director and president of the American Action Forum. “High debt and deficits, the regulatory burden. This administration is not committed to economic freedoms, and it’s troubling that we’ve declined because we’re losing our competitive edge.”
Yuval Levin, Hertog Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, concurred.
Read more: http://freebeacon.com/losing-ground/
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