Link to GMU's study pageSummary of study wrote:
This study comprehensively ranks the American states on their public policies that affect individual freedoms in the economic, social, and personal spheres. It updates, expands, and improves upon our inaugural 2009 Freedom in the 50 States study. For this new edition, we have added more policy variables (such as bans on trans fats and the audio recording of police, Massachusetts’s individual health-insurance mandate, and mandated family leave), improved existing measures (such as those for fiscal policies, workers’ compensation regulations, and asset-forfeiture rules), and developed specific policy prescriptions for each of the 50 states based on our data and a survey of state policy experts. With a consistent time series, we are also able to discover for the first time which states have improved and worsened in regard to freedom recently.
I find it funny that despite the NE not doing too well in terms of freedom, when it comes to life expectancy, median income, education levels, and a whole host of other things we generally blow the rest of the country including the 'freer' states out of the water.
But these are meaningless rankings right? Yeah sure, but the really cool part is the ratings tool. With it you can change the weight of certain 'freedoms' on the scale.
When I tinkered with the parameters and completely removed the economic freedoms and focused it solely on personal-social freedoms, which matter to me the most,(I consider economics to be more of a technical issue rather than moral. I can't use the word "freedom" when thinking of economic issues in regards to the West. My views towards gun laws are all over the place so don't even ask me about those) the results changed in an interesting way. According to this, I'll love Alaska.
Some of the worst states do significantly better when you remove economic freedoms from the list. Interesting.
I tried my hardest to think of a debate subject but I guess serious talk will be the best thing to come of this unless we have some pseudo-intelligent discussion of freedom vs development. Gah I guess a north vs south flame war would be fine.
So what does your scale look like like? Surprised by the results of the study?
