Yet another decline under Obama

[DJofSD]

I guess we can blame this one on Bush too.

http://blog.heritage.org/2014/01/14/economic-freedom-u-s-dropping-rankings/

Would you want to live in a country that is losing freedom?

How about a country that has lost ground in property rights and become more corrupt?

If you’re an American, you’re living there.

[fast4522]

But when will the other boot drop?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-15/china-s-treasury-holdings-rose-to-record-in-november-data-show.html

[NJ Stinks]

I guess we can blame this one on Bush too.

http://blog.heritage.org/2014/01/14/economic-freedom-u-s-dropping-rankings/


Your sources are wonderfully unbiased. :rolleyes:

[Tom]

That was a lot of help.
Take three points from the article and discuss why they are not true.

[JustRalph]

Your sources are wonderfully unbiased. :rolleyes:

But accurate :ThmbUp:

[NJ Stinks]

That was a lot of help.
Take three points from the article and discuss why they are not true.

1. From the first page ot the link in the first post:

And in case you were wondering whether Obamacare has had real economic effects, the authors note that the law “appears to be significantly hurting job creation and full-time employment.”

Appears to be? Either it is or it isn't. Where's the proof if it is?


2. From U.S. Economy page - under "Background":

President Barack Obama won re-election in 2012, but his efforts to expand government spending and regulation have been partially thwarted by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The continuing underperformance of the U.S. economy, by far the world’s largest, is a serious concern. The Administration’s uncertain responses to foreign policy challenges in Libya, Egypt, Syria, and Iran, among others, have reduced U.S. influence in countering tensions in the Middle East. Implementation of the health care law passed in 2010 has hit major snags and appears to be significantly hurting job creation and full-time employment. Partisan disagreements over spending levels led to a partial shutdown of the federal government in late 2013.

We're underperforming? How so? Who knows? This article doesn't say how or why. It just says so. Also, I guess if we were fighting a war in the Middle East again our "influence" there would be greater. :rolleyes:


3. From U.S. Economy page - under "Rule of Law":

The expansive use of government regulatory agencies to manage economic activity, particularly in the financial, health care, and energy sectors, has opened the door to increased perceptions of cronyism and corruption. Although property rights are guaranteed and the judiciary functions independently and predictably, protection of property rights has been uneven, raising charges of favoritism.

Lack of U.S. government regulation sent most of the world into a recession in 2007. The fact that the Heritage Foundation and the WSJ don't like government regulation is tough shit. As in who cares? I know I don't.

[mostpost]

I guess we can blame this one on Bush too.

http://blog.heritage.org/2014/01/14/economic-freedom-u-s-dropping-rankings/
A decline in economic freedom.
Do you mean the freedom to pollute the environment?
Do you mean the freedom to pay substandard wages?
Do you mean the freedom to provide an unsafe workplace?
Do you mean the freedom to create illegal financial instruments?
Do you mean the freedom to use fraud and deceit to foreclose on
mortgages so you can collect insurance on those foreclosures?
Do you mean the freedom to be a slumlord.

[mostpost]

That was a lot of help.
Take three points from the article and discuss why they are not true.
The problem is not that any particular point in the article is true or untrue. The problem is that the article is doublespeak.

Labor Freedom

The labor freedom component is a quantitative measure that considers various aspects of the legal and regulatory framework of a country’s labor market, including regulations concerning minimum wages, laws inhibiting layoffs, severance requirements, and measurable regulatory restraints on hiring and hours worked.

Six quantitative factors are equally weighted, with each counted as one-sixth of the labor freedom component:1

Ratio of minimum wage to the average value added per worker,
Hindrance to hiring additional workers,
Rigidity of hours,
Difficulty of firing redundant employees,
Legally mandated notice period, and
Mandatory severance pay.

The title say "Labor Freedom", but it has nothing to do with the freedom of workers. To Heritage "Labor Freedom" is the freedom of business to do whatever it wants in regards to labor. so, "Ratio of minimum wage to the average value added per worker," is a way of saying no minimum wage is best.
"Rigidity of hours," means we don't want to pay overtime.
"Difficulty of firing redundant employees," means we mismanaged the business and now we are saving our asses by firing the people who did the work.
"Legally mandated notice period," means the worker should be loyal to us but we have no need or obligation to be loyal to the worker.
"Mandatory severance pay" means we should not be penalized for our bad business decisions.

All six of the policies listed above should be for the protection of the worker. If the Heritage Foundation is discussing them, it is certainly for the purpose of sidestepping or eliminating them.

[rastajenk]

Do you mean the freedom to pollute the environment?

When it comes to pollution, nobody can compete with Communists. (http://thefederalist.com/2014/01/13/if-you-think-communism-is-bad-for-people-check-out-what-it-did-to-the-environment/)

The lack of economic freedom leads to horrendous pollution, plain and simple.