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Townhall
Restoring Economic
Freedom
By Ed Feulner
Suppose a quiz show host were to ask: “What country enjoys the most
economic freedom?” Most Americans probably wouldn’t even hesitate
before answering, “The United States.” They’d be wrong.
In fact, according to the 2011 “Index of Economic Freedom,” the U.S.
isn’t even in the top five. We come in at number nine -- right below
Denmark, Ireland and Canada.
Hard to believe, I know. We Americans take justifiable pride in our
freedoms. We consider our country an exemplar of liberty. And when it
comes to other freedoms (political, for example), we remain a strong
leader. But the Index (published annually since 1995 by The Heritage
Foundation and The Wall Street Journal) shows that we’re faltering when
it comes to money.
Economic freedom, by the way, doesn’t mean simply how free you, as a
citizen, are to handle your own money. Other factors influence your
liberty in this area, for good or for ill: How well do courts protect
your property rights and enforce contracts? To what extent does
government manipulate prices through subsidies, tariffs or other means?
What restrictions are placed on ownership, access to capital or
investment in legitimate business opportunities? Altogether, the Index
weighs the data in 10 areas of economic freedom and averages the
results to get an overall score.
For the most part, the U.S. is very competitive. But in two areas, it’s
been performing poorly: tax rates and government spending. Taxes are at
burdensome levels, and the corporate rate here is one of the highest
among developed nations. But it’s the spending that’s really dragging
down the U.S. score. Government outlays are soaring -- increasing by
more than $1 trillion in 2009 alone. That leaves citizens with $1
trillion less to spend as they see fit (or, since much of it was
borrowed, more for them to pay back at a later date).
This is simply unsustainable. And thanks to big-government programs
such as Obamacare, it’s on pace to get worse -- much worse.
The president’s health care law calls for massive amounts of new
federal spending. It also greatly expands the federal government’s
regulatory powers. All of this creates uncertainly in the market -- and
that’s toxic to economic freedom. Excessive government interventions
such as these spook investors, cause public debt to rise, and make
businesses less likely to make the investments necessary for economic
recovery.
Another factor hurting our chances for a top-10 finish in next year’s
Index: The Dodd-Frank financial “reform” bill Congress passed last
year. Supporters said it would make financial customers safer; instead,
it’s making them poorer. “It is likely to burden our banks and
financial markets with new requirements that will raise their cost of
doing business—and those costs will be passed on to consumers,” Index
Editor Terry Miller said.
How can we turn this around? The first step is obvious: Cut spending
and taxes.
The new Congress must get serious about spending less -- a lot less. To
call it an important issue is an understatement. Many new members were
elected on explicit promises to make government more thrifty. They can
start by axing the nearly $340 billion in wasteful spending that
Heritage identified in its recent Solutions for America plan.
But they’ll need to do more. Lawmakers have to roll back laws and
economic policies that hinder economic growth. That means repealing the
new health care law. Don’t amend it -- repeal it. And if President
Obama makes full-blown repeal impossible, Congress should refuse to
fund it. Lawmakers should also ratify three pending free-trade
agreements without further delay and cut the corporate tax rate from
its current level of 35 percent.
In the Index, countries fall into one of five categories, from “free”
to “repressed.” For the second year in a row, the United States is
ranked as “mostly free.” It’s time to change course and head back to
“free.”
Townhall
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