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Freedom is a relative concept. Compared to other states in the U.S., how does your state rank in terms of these 40 aspects of freedom?
William P. Ruger and Jason Sorens (http://freedominthe50states.org/faq) of George Mason’s Mercatus Center have produced a chart that ranks states on different measures of freedom.
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Check out 40 different state rankings on various aspects of freedom, from property rights to finding a job to throwing a bachelor party. With a full 10 years of data available, you can drill into a particular state to see how the ranking has changed over the last decade.
Freedom in the 50 States 2013 – A Race Among the States A 1:43 video take on the survey results.
What the Freedom Index Considers and Why
1. Overall – Best: North Dakota; Worst: New York (see 1:23 video here)
On the overall freedom ranking, North Dakota comes in first followed by South Dakota, Tennessee, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma. At the bottom of the ranking, New York ranks worst by a significant margin, with rent control and burdensome insurance regulations dragging down its regulatory freedom score. New York is behind California at 49th, then New Jersey, Hawaii, and Rhode Island.
2. Economic – Best: South Dakota; Worst: New York (see 1:23 video here)
3. Fiscal – Best: South Dakota; Worst: New York
4. Personal – Best: Alaska; Worst: Illinois
5. Regulatory – Best: Indiana; Worst: California (see 1: 25 video here)
6. Liability System – Best: Delaware; Worst: West Virginia
7. Property Rights – Best: Kansas; Worst: New Jersey
8. Tax Burden – Best: South Dakota; Worst: New York
9. Bachelor Party – Best: Massachusetts; Worst: South Dakota (see 1:23 video here)
10. Health Insurance – Best: Hawaii; Worst: New York
11. Find a Job – Best: Kansas; Worst: California
12. Education
15. Labor Market
16. Marriage
17. Homeschool
18. Alcohol
19. Asset Forfeiture
20. Right to Work
21. Gambling
22. Tobacco
23. Gun Control
24. Marijuana
25. Fireworks
26. Cable & Telecom
29. Eminent Domain
30. Civil Liberties
31. Travel
32. Alcohol Taxes
33. Nanny Laws
34. Food
35. Rent Control
36. Kegs
37. Happy Hour
38. Drug Enforcement
39. Campaign Finance
40. Seat Belts
Freedom in the 50 States is also available in a print edition. Sporting a fresh design and accompanied by complementary demographic and economic data, Freedom in the 50 States is a must-have desk reference for anyone invested in state policy and in advancing a better understanding of a free society. You can download the pdf or view it below. You can also download copies of the executive summaries of the 2013, 2011, and 2009 studies.
Editor’s Note: The author’s views and conclusions in the above article are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original post. Furthermore, the views, conclusions and any recommendations offered in this article are not to be construed as an endorsement of such by the editor.
*http://freedominthe50states.org/overall (© Copyright 2013 Mercatus Center at George Mason University)
Related Article:
1. 18 Countries Now Have More Economic Freedom Than U.S. – Here are the Details
This year’s Economic Freedom of the World Index, which lists countries by most to least free using every available objective criterion, contains a real shocker when it comes to the United States. We aren’t just slipping on the index, we’re falling off a cliff. In many parts of the world, life is freer than in the “land of the free.” What this reports says about the United States should be front-page news. Instead, it has received barely any attention at all. The U.S. has fallen from a high of 2nd to its current 19th. Here’s why. Words: 1040