America Falls To Ninth Place In Rankings Of Economic Freedom

From The Heritage Foundation:

America Falls to Ninth in Economic Freedom


by Nathaniel Ward







For the second year in a row, America’s economy has grown less free, according to a new analysis from The Heritage Foundation. The 2011 Index of Economic Freedom finds that America’s economy is now the ninth-freest, behind countries such as Australia, Canada and Denmark.



Why did America decline? The authors in Heritage’s Center for International Trade and Economics explain:



The U.S. economy faces enormous challenges. The government’s recent spending spree has led to fragile business confidence and crushing public debt. Interventionist responses to the economic slowdown have eroded economic freedom and long-term competitiveness. Drastic legislative changes in health care and financial regulations have retarded job creation and injected substantial uncertainty into business investment planning.



Ongoing regulatory changes, coupled with fading confidence in the direction of government policies, discourage entrepreneurship and dynamic investment within the private sector. Leadership and credibility in trade has been also undercut by protectionist policy stances and inaction on previously agreed free trade agreements with South Korea, Panama, and Colombia.





See the full ranking and the rationale for the economic freedom scores on Heritage.org.



There is good news, Ambassador Terry Miller, the director of Heritage’s Center for International Trade and Economics, writes in the Wall Street Journal (subscription only link).



“One hundred and seventeen countries, mainly developing and emerging market economies, improved their scores,” he writes, “and the average level of economic freedom around the world improved by about a third of a point on the Index’s 0 to 100 scale.”





Miller continues:



Politicians around the world are getting the message, or they are being replaced. The proven path to prosperity is the path of freedom. Individuals want control of their own lives. They want governments that facilitate, not czars that coerce or command. Fortunately, the process of reclaiming economic freedom has already begun. Our economic recovery depends on its rapid success.





The annual Index of Economic Freedom is a collaboration between Heritage and the Wall Street Journal.