So you think you’re free? Thanks to big government spending and exploding debt, the United States — and indeed the world — is less economically free today than it was a year ago, according to the 18th annual Index of Economic Freedom, released yesterday by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. Economic freedom — the ability of individuals to control the fruits of their labor and pursue their dreams — is central to prosperity around the world. Heritage and The Wall Street Journal measure economic freedom by studying its pillars: the …
In this week’s Heritage in Focus, Heritage’s Kim Holmes, co-author of the annual Index of Economic Freedom, discusses this year’s index. Click here to listen. How does the U.S. rank in economic freedom this year? How does economic freedom fare worldwide? Is there any big surprise in this year’s index? Be sure to listen to Dr. Holmes discuss answers to those questions and more! To get regular updates on Heritage in Focus podcasts, visit our RSS feed or subscribe on iTunes.
President Obama concluded 2011 by accomplishing the remarkable feat of making the United States look worse than Communist China when it comes to promoting global economic freedom. On December 29, the Obama Administration announced that sleeping bags from developing countries will now be subject to a 9 percent tariff. President Obama’s decision to hike tariffs on sleeping bags from developing countries came just one month after Hu Jintao, president of the People’s Republic of China and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, announced the elimination of tariffs on …
President Obama recently lectured Americans on economics during a campaign stop in Osawatomie, Kansas. The New York Times congratulated President Obama’s speech as a potent blow against market economics. Cal-Berkeley professor Robert Reich called it the most important speech of his presidency. The Kansas City Star gushed over his good policy and good politics. In reality, President Obama disastrously misdiagnosed the source of U.S. economic problems: Over the last few decades, huge advances in technology have allowed businesses to do more with less, and it’s made it easier for them …
Former Governor Jon Huntsman (R–UT) was at The Heritage Foundation this week answering policy questions. In his talk, he emphasized budget discipline, tax reform, and education. He also made a powerful argument for free trade, stressing that we have vastly underused our international options in helping address economic challenges. There are many such options. One of them is to promote free trade with our friendliest and most important partners. The U.S. currently has three contrasting approaches to trade. The first is protectionism, which advocates government interference to take choices away …
Taxpayers will likely shell out another $14.3 million in federal aid to the 1,100 people formerly employed by defunct solar company Solyndra. The Labor Department announced Monday that it had approved Trade Adjustment Assistance payments for those former employees, which may pay out about $13,000 for each. TAA is designed to compensate American workers laid off as a direct result of foreign competition, and to train them for other occupations – though the program has shown few signs of success. The Labor Department’s move is a tacit assertion that Solyndra’s …
The slogan “War breeds war. Peace breeds prosperity” has become a favorite idea of the anti-war faction on the right. Unlike their anti-war allies on the left, who favor protectionism, those like Congressman Ron Paul (R–TX) are rightly committed to economic freedom. Their mistake lies in thinking that commerce and security are separate issues. Nothing could be more at odds with the experience of American statecraft. In 1789, the blessings of liberty secured by the Constitution began to manifest themselves (see chart) as imports (light blue) and exports (dark blue) …
With the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round of trade talks at a standstill, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is taking action by giving poor nations “ongoing and absolute access to 100 per cent of [Australia’s] trade markets.” The United States should follow in Australia’s footsteps by removing all barriers to imports from poor nations. According to Gillard, “Economic growth and trade is the surest way out of poverty, the surest way to create jobs and spread growth.” Poor countries have had free access to Australia’s market since 2003 with no …
A recent New York Times online report suggested that Americans should quit buying products made by poor people—because when people in the United States buy coffee, sugar, t-shirts, or tomatoes, they are guilty of exploiting impoverished workers. The story quoted the executive director of a group called Art Works Projects: “Most people don’t look at their shirt and realize if they got a good deal on it, someone down the line has been seriously abused.” She later added, “If you purchased something, you’re part of the problem, but you’re immediately …
Some critics of free trade say that trade agreements just help the “rich” get richer while making the “poor” poorer, but in fact, free trade benefits everyone. Looking at data from The Heritage Foundation’s 2012 Index of Economic Freedom, Heritage’s Bryan Riley and Ambassador Terry Miller found that the benefits of free trade are far reaching. Their data demonstrate “a strong correlation between trade freedom and a variety of positive indicators, including economic prosperity, low poverty rates, and clean environments.” The chart below indicates that nations with more trade freedom …
