LARRY DOWNING/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom

LARRY DOWNING/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom

During his State of the Union address, President Obama laid out lots of claims, plans, and promises. No matter how much he tries to repackage his rhetoric, however, it remains clear that the state of our union’s economic freedom has become frail due to his misguided policies.

According to the 20th anniversary edition of the Index of Economic Freedom, which was released in Hong Kong and Washington, D.C., earlier this month, the U.S. is the only country to have recorded a loss of economic freedom each of the past seven years. As a result, our economic dynamism and innovative capacity have been severely undermined, not least by the following:

No wonder that the labor force participation rate has dropped to its lowest point in 35 years. Worse, vibrant entrepreneurial growth has been stymied by greater policy uncertainty and mounting debt. And a disturbing trend toward cronyism has gravely eroded the rule of law and distorted our free-market system.

Restoring economic freedom is indispensable to revitalizing and brightening America’s future. Now is the time to reaffirm the principles of limited government, free enterprise, and rule of law so that we can reconstitute an America where freedom, opportunity, and prosperity flourish.