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Heritage Foundation: U.S. Economy No Longer 'Free' -- Now Just 'Mostly Free'
Eric Lach | April 6, 2010, 1:47PM
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The Heritage Foundation's latest world ranking of economic freedoms shows the U.S. falling farther than any other large economy in the world. The foundation says the TARP Program, the auto industry bailout and the stimulus package, among other factors, have caused the country's economy to go from "free" to "mostly free."
The U.S. now ranks eighth in the world on the group's list.
Factors like business regulation, the labor market, monetary stability, property rights and corruption are used to determine the rankings.
Terry Miller, director of the Center of International Trade And Economics at the Heritage Foundation, says the U.S. ranking may continue to fall.
"Certainly looking at the government policies that have been followed over the last year, since our last data cut off, I'm very concerned," Miller told TPM, adding that health care reform was likely to further hurt our economic freedom.
Among the countries now ranked higher than the U.S. are Canada (where health care is universal), Singapore (where spitting is forbidden) and Ireland (whose economy was free to experience a near collapse).
(h/t Political Wire)
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FlownOver
April 6, 2010 2:20 PM
The Heritage Foundation, of course, would prefer that the shards of a collapsed US economy be held entirely in the hands of the few who support the Heritage Foundation.
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GBHeron
April 7, 2010 3:49 AM in reply to FlownOver
Exactly. Who knew that the Heritage Foundation were such big Janis Joplin fans, i.e., "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose"?
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BobFred2
April 6, 2010 2:42 PM
Translation; if we had only allowed the economy to completely collapse into a full scale worldwide depression then the billionaire swells who pay our salaries and tell us what to think would have been free to vacuum up the world’s remaining assets for pennies on the dollar. Now that is freedom they can believe in!
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bw
April 6, 2010 3:21 PM
The Heritage Foundation has gone from mostly nuts to completely nuts.
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Poop_is_Food
April 6, 2010 3:46 PM
What a joke. I can't believe the WSJ puts their name on this hackery. Oh wait, yes I can.
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AhTrini1
April 6, 2010 4:09 PM
There is no republican as president, so the sky is falling! The sky is falling!
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An Outhouse
April 6, 2010 4:21 PM
According to Heritage, Canada ranks above the U.S. in the freedom index.
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mans_best_friend
April 6, 2010 5:07 PM in reply to An Outhouse
That's 'cause they're not forced to pay into a health care system that's been taken over by the government. Oh, wait...Never mind.
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bluestatedon
April 6, 2010 4:35 PM
Miller continued, saying "I think it's clear that the US economy would be vastly more productive if captains of industry like J. Roby Penn IV held the levers of power in this country."
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reino2
April 6, 2010 4:45 PM
They forgot Somalia, the freest country ever.
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expat46
April 7, 2010 12:18 AM in reply to reino2
It's a Libertarian Paradise.
In case you missed it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QDv4sYwjO0
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justaJ0e
April 6, 2010 4:58 PM
Here's something to pass along to your frightened, Faux News watching, friends who are screaming about the government owning all the corporations ...
Ask them if they now what the S&P 500 index ranks?
Roughly speaking, it is the top 500 companies in the U.S.
Now ask them how many of these have been propped up with Tarp Money?
Answer - None.
Ask them if they know how many companies in their actually ARE in the US? Then ask them how many have received "government bailout" money?
Answer - less then half a dozen.
Now ask them how this "less then even 1%" comes anywhere close to a government take over?
My guess is that at this point, they will suddenly change the subject to what a low life Bill Clinton was.
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Cal Damage
April 6, 2010 8:15 PM
Ain't this the joint where li'l Ginny Thomas, spouse of Clarence, was vetting staffers for the new Bush Administration before Bush v. Gore got to her husband's Supreme Court?
Josh, every time you report on any of their pronouncements, you become part of their all-important echo chamber.
And don't give me any of the 'meta-' crap.
mentioning the Heritage Policy marketing Company at all simply adds to their importance, and to your participation in the echo...echo...chamber...chamber...
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pseudonymous in nc
April 6, 2010 10:14 PM
Heritage Foundation no longer 'complete wingnut hacks', now 'complete and utter wingnut hacks'.
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TJF
April 6, 2010 11:31 PM
I guess it's my fault for only reading the Cliff Notes version of Das Kapital, so I missed the chapter where you hire Private Equity guys to try to turn the failing car companies you "take over" into profitable ones, and wring 8% preferred dividends out of the banks you "take over" so that they are eager to pay you back.
You'd think with all the money Heritage has they could hire people familiar with actual economics and actual facts.
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RocketEngineer
April 7, 2010 12:15 AM
Facts confuse them. Facts are the sand in their ideological bearings.
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Tosh
May 22, 2010 9:43 PM
Haha!!!
Translation; if we had only allowed the economy to completely collapse into a full scale worldwide depression then the billionaire swells who pay our salaries and tell us what to think would have been free to vacuum up the world’s remaining assets for pennies on the dollar. Now that is freedom they can believe in!
m65 kamagra
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