Do you have that nagging feeling that just maybe we are not as free as we used to be? That this growth of government, with all the associated taxes and regulations, keeps adding up and never get smaller? (Under BOTH Democrats AND Republicans!)
Well, you are right. The Heritage Foundation has put out its "2010 Index Of Economic Freedom" and the USA has dropped to 8th place. We are no longer in the top "Free" category. We have dropped to the "Mostly Free" category. Pretty disgusting for a country that was founded on freedom and liberty.
Here is what the Index had to say about the USA:
"The U.S. government’s interventionist responses to the financial and economic crisis that began in 2008 have significantly undermined economic freedom and long-term prospects for economic growth. Economic freedom has declined in seven of the 10 categories measured in the Index.
Uncertainties caused by ongoing regulatory changes and politically influenced stimulus spending have discouraged entrepreneurship and job creation, slowing recovery. Leadership in free trade has been undercut by “Buy American” provisions in stimulus legislation and failure to pursue previously agreed free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea. Tax rates are increasingly uncompetitive, and massive stimulus spending is creating unprecedented deficits. Bailouts of financial and automotive firms have generated concerns about property rights."
To make things worse, our government seems hell-bent on continuing this slide less freedom.
Elections have consequences. We are seeing the results of the last several elections.
Don't make the same mistakes in 2010 and 2012.
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