Thursday, September 27, 2012

More Than One Kind Of Freedom

We tend to think in terms of our essential liberties as those set out in the Bill of Rights. And that's a good thing. But there are many ways in which our freedoms can be diminished by big government. Currently, the Romney/Ryan ticket is addressing those issues, such as over-regulation and choosing winners and losers. These items and many more fit into the broad category of “economic freedom.”

America used to be the magnet for businesses, most importantly start-ups and middle-sized businesses. That has changed radically since 2002. During the Bush II administration, things began to decline with more government interference in private enterprise. Up until that time, the United States had always been in the top five of economically-free nations. By the time Barack Obama, the Democrats, and the social engineers got control, the decline was serious.

And then it dropped like a stone.

Since 2009, the economic freedom index for America in the world has dropped from twelfth place to eighteenth place. The most recent drop was when the last two industrialized nations dropped their integrated capital gains/corporate tax rates to a level below America's, which are now the developed world's highest rates. A recently published joint report from the Canadian Fraser Institute and the American Cato Institute is rather damning. Before anyone jumps on me, I am fully aware that both institutes are conservative/libertarian. But that affects their political side. When they crunch numbers and prepare correlations, their statistics are as good as anyone's.

Here is how they define economic freedom for purposes of the study: “Individuals have economic freedom when property they acquire without the use of force, fraud, or theft is protected from physical invasions by others and they are free to use, exchange, or give their property as long as their actions do not violate the identical rights of others. An index of economic freedom should measure the extent to which rightly acquired property is protected and individuals are engaged in voluntary transactions.”

The size of American government has grown by leaps and bounds, mostly to regulate or “assist” business and protect the environment. The legal structure, particularly during the Obama years, attacks private property and contract rights from every direction. Sound monetary policy which protects the nation's solvency and predictability has gone down the drain. Regulatory agencies (such as the Environmental Protection Agency) are having far too much influence on business and personal decisions. For instance, a landowner ought to be able to build a house on his own property without worrying that the EPA will suddenly decide it's a wetland which must be left in its pristine state.

The government has accelerated its statist march with bailouts, funded by already-burdened taxpayers and designed to favor businesses which are cozy with the government and the government's agendas. The use of eminent domain to determine economic outcomes rather than the traditional need for public spaces makes for over-cautious investment decisions. Even the so-called “war on terror” has had its effect. Not so much because the increased need for security requires increased money, but more because the government wants to retain much of the machinery for itself (the Transportation Security Administration, for example).

Unions play a part in this as well. They were a major cause for the collapse of General Motors and Chrysler Corporation. Rather than allow GM to go into bankruptcy, and either emerge better than ever or lose out because it didn't fix its business practices, the government took over the decisions for one of America's major industries. The “too big to fail” nonsense has now been translated into “GM is alive and bin Laden is dead.” That's only because the federal government didn't throw bad money after worse to rescue bin Laden. Considering its debts, its financial policies, its support with taxpayer money, and the federal subsidies of cars nobody wants, GM's day of reckoning is still to come. The walking dead, as it were. The big banks are in a similar situation, though unions do not play as large a part.

Not that long ago, a young, determined, fiscally-sound entrepeneur could form a basic business plan, put the money together, find a location, and open his new business within a matter of months, or even just weeks. Today, he deals with multiple layers of government, each wanting a piece of his business decision-making. An environmental impact report alone can take months to years, and there's no guarantee that the regulatory agency won't change the rules even after the business owner has complied with the original rules. Food and safety rules have gone from “be reasonable” to “you have to provide entrances and facilities for companion mini-horses." Elaborate and “dignified” handicapped facilities must be provided rather than simple entrances which will accommodate a person in a wheelchair or on crutches.

Complicated payroll taxes and the minimum wage must be considered. With today's volatile economic conditions, many potential employers are simply not hiring, are terminating employees, or moving full time employees to part-time status because they simply can't determine in a fiscally-sound manner what the future holds. Ditto for business investors. Obamacare alone has turned a bad economic situation into a potential massive disaster. About the only people benefiting from this are lawyers, accountants, and big corporation cronies of the administration. The middle class that the Democrats claim to love is being eviscerated. The government simply needs to back off and let the free market and the involved individuals make the decisions.

So who are those countries with more economic freedom than America? Glad you asked. The top ten that both institutes agree on are (from best to least): Hong Kong (still technically part of mainland China), Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, Canada, Bahrain, Mauritius, Finland, Chile and Denmark. There was a time, well within my lifetime, when America was so far out in front that the others were almost irrelevant. Several of the top ten are nations which only recently Americans would have laughed at because of their huge social welfare obligations. As they move toward economic freedom, America moves the other direction. At least until January, 2013, I hope.

26 comments:

Individualist said...

Lawhawk

Unlkess the Tea Party can make some huge headway and get legislation past I don't know if the turnaround will happen. As it stands now we have three factions:

The DNC run by Progressives to whom FORWARD is taking two steps back for every one step up.

The RINO's who simply won't budge

and the Tea Party who have Turned the Bus Around but are not being allowed to get into the Driver's Seat to press on the Gas by the other two.

K said...

Tap...tap...tap...is this thing on?


Freedom = slavery

Except for abortion rights....

and free stuff for our voters.

signed
Democratic Party Progressives

LawHawkRFD said...

Indi: Since I've been the downer here recently over polls and the campaign, it's time for my "buck up" attitude to come back. I think the Tea Party (and movement conservatives) represent the concept that "no army is so powerful as an idea whose time has come." Besides, they have all of us pushing them. LOL

LawHawkRFD said...

K: Excellent summary of the Democratic platform.

T-Rav said...

You know you're screwed when Canada and parts of Scandinavia have freer economies than we do. Great.

AndrewPrice said...

I actually have my doubts about these kinds of surveys because they tend to be based on official procedures, which are often misleading when compared how they actually work in practice. But I can say that forming a fully-legitimate business in the US with employees has become a lot harder over the past decade.

LawHawkRFD said...

T-Rav: Sad, isn't it?

LawHawkRFD said...

Andrew: Any survey is subject to criticism, and I did say up-front that there is likely a conservative/libertarian bias built into it. That said, I have personally observed the vast difference between the way a business was put together and opened in 1962 and the way one is today. In practice back then, state law, local codes and payroll deducions were pretty much the only thing a start-up business had to consider. Today, even the smallest new business is going to face a daunting array of local, state and federal regulations, not to mention work rules, federal mandates, the interference of unrelated agencies (like the EPA), and worst of all, Obamacare.

Much of the damage had already been done by the period of the past decade, but Obama and the liberals are hell-bent to make it worse. That is reflected in the freedom index dropping dramatically. If the index is off by one or two places, it doesn't change the basic reasoning.

Tennessee Jed said...

A nice article, Hawk . . . and one which sums up the difference between communalism, progressivism, socialism, etc. and individual liberty to do with one's life what one wishes. They can come up with all the catchy phrases "it takes a village," "economic justice," and you didn't build that," but at the end of the day, it comes down to individual liberty versus being an economic serf to the government (or part of the borge for the Trek fans.)

LawHawkRFD said...

Tennessee: The best incentive of all is the freedom to follow your dreams and create something out of nothing without government interference (or help, for that matter). Obama and the regulatory state are busy creating nothing out of something.

Joel Farnham said...

LawHawk,

Not much to add. Nice article.

Patriot said...

LawHawk.......I always wanted to emigrate to New Zealand. Now I have another incentive to prod me to move. Interesting how Australia is not on this list. I had a banking client few years back in Sydney, and got to know the Aussies quite well. A very independent minded people being run by a bunch of PC fools what with the Abo's and all.

BTW, just read an article on the TSA policy of ordering everyone to "freeze" whenever they feel like it when running a drill or have any suspicious activity. Having been caught in one of these last year, and basically told to not move a muscle until thenall clear was given, I felt like a damn animal. Someone needs to ask Romney what, if anyththing, he'll do about the TSA procedures. That would probably even get a few "progressives" on his side if he answers the question as a freedom loving American.

LawHawkRFD said...

Joel: Thanks.

LawHawkRFD said...

Patriot: I've always felt an affinity for the Aussies. I knew a lot of them in college, and later was a minor player in some negotiations with Qantas Airlines. While our relationship with Native Americans has gone somewhat quiet lately, Australia is still dealing with its past and the aborigines.

As for the TSA, the answer is to privatize as much as possible, though I'm not sure that's the way Romney would want to approach the issue now. Of course, I've been saying all along that we should get rid of the TSA entirely and replace it with contract employees from Mossad, but I don't think Romney will be saying that either. LOL

Patriot said...

LawHawk......gotta love a country founded by outcasts and exiled prisoners!

"Esacpe From London" starring "Emu Digaboo" :-)

Snake Plisken said...

Hey......that was my Oscar turn!

LawHawkRFD said...

Patriot: I sometimes wonder (Stan, are you listening?) if there's any affinity between the Aussies and the people of the state of Georgia, which was also originally a penal colony.

LawHawkRFD said...

Hi, Snake: I thought you were still hiding out in the Island of Los Angeles. Welcome to the human race.

T-Rav said...

Having met a couple people from Georgia, I think it may still be one (Ben, if by some chance you're reading this, I'm just kidding).

LawHawkRFD said...

T-Rav: I'm ducking that one.

Joel Farnham said...

I saw the creator of that video that has engulfed the mideast in flames has been arrested and put in jail for probation violations.

T-Rav said...

I'd be curious to know, as a rule, how many people not "blaspheming the Prophet" get arrested and jailed for probation violations.

LawHawkRFD said...

Joel: He did get jailed.

LawHawkRFD said...

T-Rav: They can be awfully selective in whom they violate and whom they don't. So far, though, I think he deserved it. Not for his First Amendment mess, but for being a nutcase who ignored the terms of his probation (monitored release) and incidentally gave the barbarians an excuse for mayhem.

Joel Farnham said...

LawHawk,

I was just wondering if they are actually going to research deep enough into this guy to find his terrorists links.

LawHawkRFD said...

Joel: Everything about his guy is hinky. They'll investigate, but who knows what they'll find?

Post a Comment