4 ms·

The index is by a conservative think tank but its certainly not just about taxes. I understand its been impacted in the past by things like the Kelo decision. A

by DGrutt 13y ago

The index is by a conservative think tank but its certainly not just about taxes. I understand its been impacted in the past by things like the Kelo decision. Anyway it says its these four things equally weighted: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom).

elipsey 13y ago
I see. I may have failed to really understand the index; In my defence the article seemed to dwell unduly a small part of it's composition. At the least, these guys need better PR. That article seemed pretty out of touch with those of us in the rest of the tax brackets. Instead of complaining about top tax rates they should be convincing me that net prosperity will increase, even for middle class chumps like me, if we deregulate, lower _everyone's_ taxes, abolish the minimum wage, get rid of medicare/medicaid, get rid of public health insurance and unemployment insurance and welfare and food programs and social security, and &c. That sounds like a hard sell, and I think these guys are afraid to address those issues head on in a public forum like WSJ, so they complain about other stuff that's less relevant.
- brc 13y ago
  It's probably more the slant that the WSJ put on the ranking and what makes up the ranking. I think making a link between economic freedom and economic growth is a tough enough sell without giving individual policy prescriptions. Ideally people should be informed enough to know what tradeoffs they are making when they vote for policy choices. It's OK to vote yourself a bit less economic growth for other things you want, but for many they aren't aware of those tradeoffs.

4 ms·

The index is by a conservative think tank but its certainly not just about taxes. I understand its been impacted in the past by things like the Kelo decision. A

by DGrutt 13y ago

elipsey 13y ago
I see. I may have failed to really understand the index; In my defence the article seemed to dwell unduly a small part of it's composition. At the least, these guys need better PR. That article seemed pretty out of touch with those of us in the rest of the tax brackets. Instead of complaining about top tax rates they should be convincing me that net prosperity will increase, even for middle class chumps like me, if we deregulate, lower _everyone's_ taxes, abolish the minimum wage, get rid of medicare/medicaid, get rid of public health insurance and unemployment insurance and welfare and food programs and social security, and &c. That sounds like a hard sell, and I think these guys are afraid to address those issues head on in a public forum like WSJ, so they complain about other stuff that's less relevant.
- brc 13y ago
  It's probably more the slant that the WSJ put on the ranking and what makes up the ranking. I think making a link between economic freedom and economic growth is a tough enough sell without giving individual policy prescriptions. Ideally people should be informed enough to know what tradeoffs they are making when they vote for policy choices. It's OK to vote yourself a bit less economic growth for other things you want, but for many they aren't aware of those tradeoffs.