Join me in this show for a commentary on the Economic Freedom of the World Report
In this report we find that the US is slipping quickly in its economic freedom. The question is how far down the list will we fall? Here is the outline of the show.
1) What kind of legacy are we going to leave our children
- Will they inherit the blessing of abundance by being in the land of opportunity
2) What is the Economic Freedom of the World report 2010?
- the Fraser Institute, a free-market think tank in Canada and the washington-based Cato Institute measure 41 indicators of the 144 countries.
- The work of Economists James Gwartney, Robert Lawson, and Joshua Hall
3) What do they measure? 5 main areas
- Size of the government
- Legal System and Property rights
- Sound money
- Freedom to Trade Internationally
- Regulations
4) Why is the study important? What are the general findings?
- freer markets are better for:
- per-capita income
- economic growth
- amount of income earned by poorest
- life expectancy
- political rights and civil liberties
- unemployment rates
- debt per capita
- income inequality
- gender inequality
- Child labor
- air pollution
- forest growth
- CO2 emissions
5) Where does US stand and where is the US trend?
- In 2000 US was 2nd
- by 2009 we had dropped to 12th
- In 2010 we had dropped to 18th.
- One estimate was that if the statistics were in for 2012 we would be 40th. (That would put Spain ahead of us)
- Others around. (Kuwait 19), Qatar (17)
- Protection of private property rights showed the greatest decline (thanks war on terror)
6) 5 reasons for the decline
- increased use of eminent domain
- war on drugs and terror
- uncertainty in the business environment (who will get bailed out when)
- growth in size and scope of government (adjusted government spending has growth b by more than 50 % since President Clinton left office.
- regulations
- Inflation
7) What does this mean for you and me?
- If no change all the other things listed earlier will decrease
8) What can we do?
- Prepare for worse economic conditions in the US
- Strengthen your own economic position
- Remove investments in US unless they are countries that do business in growing economies.
- Invest in countries that are becoming more free
- Don’t vote for establishment candidates
CONCLUSION
God can bring good out this too!
Resources for Today's Show:
