Although Americans like to think of the United States as the freest country in the world, it actually comes in 12th place for economic freedom, according to the Fraser Institute.
At 12th in the world, the U.S. is tied with the United Kingdom, which, given the U.K.’s socialized health system and 45 percent top income tax rate, shows how low economic freedom has fallen in the U.S.
This is clearly cause for concern, and it’s why the Fraser Institute and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University has published a book on it, entitled, What America’s Decline in Economic Freedom Means for Entrepreneurship and Prosperity at the Capitol on Thursday, contributors to the book briefed congressional staff on what’s wrong with the U.S. economy and how to fix it.
According to panelist Liya Palagashvili, the most shocking thing about America’s economic freedom “was finding just how poorly the U.S. has gotten over the last decade or so.” Palagashvili wrote the chapter of the book on entrepreneurship and institutions. She noted that there has been a decline in property rights in the U.S., accompanied by an increase in bureaucratic costs imposed on businesses.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., was also on hand to discuss economic freedom. Johnson knows all too well how big government policies get in the way of economic growth, having served as CEO of a plastics manufacturer before his election to the Senate in 2010. Johnson cited Obamacare as a big reason why he got involved in politics, calling it the “greatest single assault on freedoms in my lifetime.”
Johnson mentioned the importance of fixing our awful legal environment and uncompetitive tax code. “If we’re going to get our economy moving forward … we need to realize what makes this country great,” he said. “It’s not big government. It’s not decades of layer upon layer upon layer upon layer, I could keep going on, of rules and regulations.”
“We as Americans, have got to demand our freedom back,” Johnson concluded.
Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., spoke about the burden of federal government debt. Brat noted that the federal government’s unfunded liabilities are $127 trillion, painting a much grimmer picture of the government’s fiscal situation than some people have heard. Brat called for a balanced budget amendment that would balance the budget within 10 years. He said Democrats he spoke to seemed open to the idea, provided that the budget had no poison pills.
