The new Freedom Ranking is out.
Every year, researchers
at the Fraser and Cato Institutes
compare economic freedoms
like the
freedom to trade,
amount of regulations,
tax levels,
plus
personal freedoms like
women’s rights
and religious freedom.
They publish the results
in the Human Freedom Index.
It compares countries according to how free they are.
So, is America
the freest country?
No.
We came in 17th this year,
well behind many other countries.
The report says
the freest countries are now:
Switzerland
Hong Kong
New Zealand
Ireland
and then Australia.
Years ago,
America was near the top of the
economic freedom list.
The United States used to have
one of the freest economies in the world.
Ian Vasquez helped write the rankings.
It used to be 2, 3, or 4
and then
government started to grow.
It started to spend more.
To step in with dramatic government action
and regulate more.
The strongest
consumer financial protections
in history
and tax more.
Those who are more fortunate
are going to have to pay a little bit more.
Those are reasons
we fell on the freedom list.
So let’s look at the top of the list.
Why does
Switzerland rank
first in the world?
Welcome to the world.
Because it has comparatively little regulation,
low taxes,
a free press,
and other freedoms
like same-sex marriage
that many other countries lack.
A good ranking matters,
not just because it’s good to be free,
but because freedom
allows people to prosper.
Look what happened in Hong Kong,
number 2 on the list.
Hong Kong,
a thousand worlds in this one small spot.
Not long ago,
people in Hong Kong
were among the poorest in the world,
but now
they're among the richest.
What do I like about Hong Kong?
Every moment there’s something exciting going on.
Prosperity happened
because Hong Kong’s government
put few obstacles in the way of
trying new things,
like starting a business.
Here I am
in Hong Kong,
years ago,
applying for legal permission to open a business.
Handing in one form
was all I had to do.
Thank you, sir.
The next morning I opened Stossel Enterprises.
Ten dollars.
It was a stupid business
selling things like
American frisbees,
but that chance to try new things
is what allowed Hong Kong to prosper.
By comparison, India ranks much lower
because there,
to start a business, entrepreneurs
may have to wait years
while bureaucrats like these
debate the merit of your idea.
Good ideas die,
waiting
on these shelves.
That’s a reason
India stays poor.
It could be worse.
The most oppressed people in the world
are those who live in the countries at the bottom
of the freedom ranking:
Egypt
Yemen
Libya
Venezuela
and least free,
Syria.
Mostly because of the war.
You aren’t free
if you worry about being killed.
“No alimento”
2nd least free country Venezuela
was once
the richest country in Latin America.
Then Socialists promised
they'd spread the wealth.
Now Venezuelans fight over bags of flour.
Freedom is under attack
all around the word.
Tanja Porcnik is the rankings other author.
I interviewed her by Skype,
because
she now lives in Austria,
although she was born in
Slovakia.
You moved to Austria to get more freedom?
Ah, yes.
Freedom just inspired me.
Freedom
relates to other things that matter.
What’s important in life?
Those of us who revere freedom
often say it’s the
dignity of the individual,
and a chance to live
free from coercion.
You can lead your life
any way you want
as long as you respect the equal rights of others.
What job you want to take,
what kinds of things you want to do,
who you want to marry,
what you want to do on your free time,
where you want to live.
Countries don’t regulate your free time.
Oh yes they do,
they regulate everything.
They regulate vacation time,
where you can travel,
if you’re a woman in some part of the world,
you have to ask permission from men
to go out in public.
Freedom brings good things
to countries that try it.
People now
want to live in 3rd-ranked New Zealand.
The country is politically and economically stable
with people all over the world attracted
by the benefits and opportunities.
Ireland
used to be poor,
but now it ranks 4th on the Freedom Index.
You don't just arrive in Ireland,
you jump in.
Ireland, I think about the potato famine.
I don’t think about prosperity.
They reduced taxes.
They reduced spending.
They reduced some regulations.
They opened up to trade.
Crack down on China’s trade abuses.
America now may close itself to some trade.
If that makes you want to move
to another country,
the rankings offer places to consider.
And places to avoid…
Greece is beautiful,
but it ranks 60th in freedom.
China has gotten richer,
but it ranks 130th.
You can read the full rankings
on the Cato Institute’s
and Fraser Institute’s websites.
It’s too bad
that the US is now only 17th in the rankings,
but the good news is that
we are 17th
partly because
in recent years,
other countries became more free.
Despite what we hear on the news,
over several decades,
the world has slowly
been getting
better.