Canada Has More Economic Freedom Than US

[LongBlade]

This is an interesting study. I'd like to know more specifics on how they measured this. However, the US states with greatest economic freedom also correspond closely to those with the best economies. Funny how that works.

A new study on economic freedom in North America has concluded that some American states are less free than the provinces of our northern neighbor Canada.

"Canadian provinces now lead US states in average economic freedom, with the provincial average at 6.8 compared to 6.7 out of 10 for US states," claims the new study by the Fraser Institute.


Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/28/report-us-states-less-free-than-canadian-provinces/

[Windigo]

"A lot of times there are popular misconceptions about who's really free and unfree. For instance, at the national level, people talk about 'socialist Sweden'. But when you actually look at it, Sweden is actually very economically free, they just have a big welfare state and a lot of labor market regs, but not a heck of a lot of other infringements," Powell said.


Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/28/report-us-states-less-free-than-canadian-provinces/#ixzz2DXXkb5Qy


Hmmmm

[LongBlade]

"A lot of times there are popular misconceptions about who's really free and unfree. For instance, at the national level, people talk about 'socialist Sweden'. But when you actually look at it, Sweden is actually very economically free, they just have a big welfare state and a lot of labor market regs, but not a heck of a lot of other infringements," Powell said.


Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/28/report-us-states-less-free-than-canadian-provinces/#ixzz2DXXkb5Qy


Hmmmm

Yup. Fewer regulations = better economy. If we had fewer regulations maybe we could afford more social programs. Maybe.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Regulations are not in an of themselves evil. There is no such axiom. Any regulation has to make sense.
Regulations that are just there to get in people's way are stupid.
Regulations that prevent companies from externalizing costs, such as pollution, to citizens are sensible.


Its more a matter of how many ways can people find to screw things up. Lack of regulation can let people screw things up as much as regulations can screw things up.

[Centurion40]

Yup. Fewer regulations = better economy.

Didn't seem to work so well for your banking industry.

Like Bigs said, I don't think that regulations are necessarily bad, it just depends on what they are.

[LongBlade]

Yup. Fewer regulations = better economy.

Didn't seem to work so well for your banking industry.

Like Bigs said, I don't think that regulations are necessarily bad, it just depends on what they are.

I agree some regulations are necessary. However, if you look closely, you'll find it was because of bad regulations that our banking industry blew up.

Slowly, relentlessly, from the 1980s on, mostly Democrat-controlled Congresses pushed both quasi-governmental entities to prod banks into ever more liberal loan policies that would allow less and less qualified loan applicants to obtain mortgages and—often for the first time—purchase housing, regardless of whether they were financially able to carry their mortgages.

The problem became acute in the early 2000s as lower and lower down payments and "liar loans"—loans that required little if any substantiating documentation—became the norm. The Bush Administration—along with eventual GOP presidential candidate John McCain—tried to put an end to these practices, but to no avail. Frank, the Democrats, and a substantial number of incredibly stupid Republicans steadfastly opposed legislation geared toward heading off the already-gathering fiscal storm.


Read more: Barney Frank flees the scene of his fiscal crimes | Washington Times Communities
Follow us: @wtcommunities on Twitter

Source: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/prudent-man/2011/nov/29/barney-frank-flees-scene-his-fiscal-crimes/

I'm not convinced Bush II is as innocent as this quote makes him out to be, however, the point is clear: bad regulations caused our problem, not too few.

[Longdan]

This is balderdash!! How can we be more free when we labour under
the grinding tyranny of dreaded socialism?  When we must help out
the bloodsucking freeloader?  When we decline to defend ourselves credibly
against our only credible military threat?  Nope.  That is just plain WRONG!
I can feel the oppression by just going outside.  It feels cold and shivery.

[Windigo]

Yup. Fewer regulations = better economy.

Didn't seem to work so well for your banking industry.

Like Bigs said, I don't think that regulations are necessarily bad, it just depends on what they are.

I agree some regulations are necessary. However, if you look closely, you'll find it was because of bad regulations that our banking industry blew up.

Slowly, relentlessly, from the 1980s on, mostly Democrat-controlled Congresses pushed both quasi-governmental entities to prod banks into ever more liberal loan policies that would allow less and less qualified loan applicants to obtain mortgages and—often for the first time—purchase housing, regardless of whether they were financially able to carry their mortgages.

The problem became acute in the early 2000s as lower and lower down payments and "liar loans"—loans that required little if any substantiating documentation—became the norm. The Bush Administration—along with eventual GOP presidential candidate John McCain—tried to put an end to these practices, but to no avail. Frank, the Democrats, and a substantial number of incredibly stupid Republicans steadfastly opposed legislation geared toward heading off the already-gathering fiscal storm.


Read more: Barney Frank flees the scene of his fiscal crimes | Washington Times Communities
Follow us: @wtcommunities on Twitter

Source: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/prudent-man/2011/nov/29/barney-frank-flees-scene-his-fiscal-crimes/

I'm not convinced Bush II is as innocent as this quote makes him out to be, however, the point is clear: bad regulations caused our problem, not too few.

and too few are much worse than anything

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

You can't take seriously anything that comes out of the Fraser Institute.  They're a bunch of Objectivist/Liberatarians from the failed school of economic thought put forth by those nutty Austrians Von Mises and Hayek and jumped on by Friedman, Greenspan and their ilk.  The entire philosophy is as fatally flawed as Communism is as both fail to account for human behaviour.

[LongBlade]

Tell us how you really feel.

[OJsDad]

Yup. Fewer regulations = better economy.

Didn't seem to work so well for your banking industry.

Like Bigs said, I don't think that regulations are necessarily bad, it just depends on what they are.

I agree some regulations are necessary. However, if you look closely, you'll find it was because of bad regulations that our banking industry blew up.

Slowly, relentlessly, from the 1980s on, mostly Democrat-controlled Congresses pushed both quasi-governmental entities to prod banks into ever more liberal loan policies that would allow less and less qualified loan applicants to obtain mortgages and—often for the first time—purchase housing, regardless of whether they were financially able to carry their mortgages.

The problem became acute in the early 2000s as lower and lower down payments and "liar loans"—loans that required little if any substantiating documentation—became the norm. The Bush Administration—along with eventual GOP presidential candidate John McCain—tried to put an end to these practices, but to no avail. Frank, the Democrats, and a substantial number of incredibly stupid Republicans steadfastly opposed legislation geared toward heading off the already-gathering fiscal storm.


Read more: Barney Frank flees the scene of his fiscal crimes | Washington Times Communities
Follow us: @wtcommunities on Twitter

Source: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/prudent-man/2011/nov/29/barney-frank-flees-scene-his-fiscal-crimes/

I'm not convinced Bush II is as innocent as this quote makes him out to be, however, the point is clear: bad regulations caused our problem, not too few.

and too few are much worse than anything

The funny thing is though, everytime there is hiccup, then there is a call for more regulations, which do nothing but help politicians and bureaucrats but don't stop the next hiccup.  If I remeber, there were many economic down turns in the US prior to all of the regulations, and all of  the regulations since then have done nothing to help, except to suck more money out of the economy.

[Ashcloud]

This is balderdash!! How can we be more free when we labour under
the grinding tyranny of dreaded socialism?  When we must help out
the bloodsucking freeloader?  When we decline to defend ourselves credibly
against our only credible military threat?  Nope.  That is just plain WRONG!
I can feel the oppression by just going outside.  It feels cold and shivery.

Please excuse my ignorance but what military threat is Canada facing?

[MIGMaster]

 ^ Quebec and the Mohawk Warrior Society!

[Centurion40]

I was gonna say budget cuts.  ;)

[Marty Ward]

and too few are much worse than anything

I don't think anyone will accuse us of have to few regulations.

"According to the Office of the Federal Register, in 1998, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), the official listing of all regulations in effect, contained a total of 134,723 pages in 201 volumes that claimed 19 feet of shelf space. In 1970, the CFR totaled only 54,834 pages.

The General Accountability Office (GAO) reports that in the four fiscal years from 1996 to 1999, a total of 15,286 new federal regulations went into effect. Of these, 222 were classified as "major" rules, each one having an annual effect on the economy of at least $100 million."

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/fedregulations_2.htm