States Ranked by Level of Freedom

[majormadmax]

An interesting study...

Freedom in the 50 States | Mercatus

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.

Here's the rankings...

• 1. New Hampshire
• 2. South Dakota
• 3. Indiana
• 4. Idaho
• 5. Missouri
• 6. Nevada
• 7. Colorado
• 8. Oregon
• 9. Virginia
• 10. North Dakota
• 11. Florida
• 12. Oklahoma
• 13. Iowa
• 14. Texas
• 15. Georgia
• 16. Tennessee
• 17. Kansas
• 18. North Carolina
• 19. Alabama
• 20. Utah
• 21. Wyoming
• 22. Arizona
• 23. Nebraska
• 24. Mississippi
• 25. Wisconsin

• 26. South Carolina
• 27. Michigan
• 28. Arkansas
• 29. Montana
• 30. Vermont
• 31. Pennsylvania
• 32. Kentucky
• 33. Maine
• 34. Minnesota
• 35. Louisiana
• 36. West Virginia
• 37. New Mexico
• 38. Connecticut
• 39. Delaware
• 40. Washington
• 41. Illinois
• 42. Ohio
• 43. Maryland
• 44. Alaska
• 45. Rhode Island
• 46. Massachusetts
• 47. Hawaii
• 48. California
• 49. New Jersey
• 50. New York

The report can be downloaded in PDF format here.

Cheers! M2

 

[Dcav]

Dang didnt even make the top 10, but than again I left #50 to live in #14, quite an improvement.

 

[hkusp1]

We need to be number 1. Time to march to Austin.

 

[Dawico]

^^^What he said.

 

[rifletex91]

I wouldn't move to CAL or NY even if I was paid to do so. "I'll give you a million dollars" NO! I was BORN in TEXAS, LIVE in TEXAS, and will DIE in TEXAS.

 

[rifletex91]

We need to be number 1. Time to march to Austin.

+1

 

[Bultx1215]

I don't think you want to be number 1 on this survey. They ranked the states by social programs and nice little lefty stuff. Here is what they say will make us better:

Texas | Mercatus

Policy Recommendations

1. Legalize casino gambling, slot machines, and sports betting. These changes would be especially useful as mechanisms for reducing the state’s budget shortfall.
2. Repeal the prevailing-wage law.
3. Liberalize drug laws. First steps would include legalizing medical marijuana, decriminalizing low-level marijuana possession, and reducing the extremely harsh maximum prison sentences for single marijuana offenses.

So, if we legalize gambling, drugs and make this a pro union state, it will be better???? WTF? Not what I signed up for.

 

[texas_teacher]

Dang didnt even make the top 10, but than again I left #50 to live in #14, quite an improvement.

We need to be number 1. Time to march to Austin.

Always nice to improve from one state to the other...

There's always a good time to march on Austin

 

[texas_teacher]

I don't think you want to be number 1 on this survey. They ranked the states by social programs and nice little lefty stuff. Here is what they say will make us better:

Texas | Mercatus

Policy Recommendations

1. Legalize casino gambling, slot machines, and sports betting. These changes would be especially useful as mechanisms for reducing the state’s budget shortfall.
2. Repeal the prevailing-wage law.
3. Liberalize drug laws. First steps would include legalizing medical marijuana, decriminalizing low-level marijuana possession, and reducing the extremely harsh maximum prison sentences for single marijuana offenses.

So, if we legalize gambling, drugs and make this a pro union state, it will be better???? WTF? Not what I signed up for.

I'm personally damn glad that we're not a union state because our state actually gets stuff done (there's kinda sorta a teacher's union but it's not a union in the sense that in Texas it's illegal for teachers to strike so no need to worry about nobody teaching your kids...)

I wouldn't mind seeing gambling in Texas, but i doubt it will happen. There's too much influence coming in from Louisiana and Oklahoma gaming organizations in order for it to an issue.

When it comes to marijuana, I don't think that it's the "gateway" drug that everybody says that it is. I know numerous individuals who partake of it and out of the 25 or so that I can think of off of my head, only one of them isn't an upstanding member of society. People will abuse things whether they're legal or not. Look at how much stuff you have to show an id for at the store. Permanent markers, paint, super glue, etc. It's gotten pretty darn out of control.

 

[Shooterman]

I'm personally damn glad that we're not a union state because our state actually gets stuff done (there's kinda sorta a teacher's union but it's not a union in the sense that in Texas it's illegal for teachers to strike so no need to worry about nobody teaching your kids...)

I wouldn't mind seeing gambling in Texas, but i doubt it will happen. There's too much influence coming in from Louisiana and Oklahoma gaming organizations in order for it to an issue.

When it comes to marijuana, I don't think that it's the "gateway" drug that everybody says that it is. I know numerous individuals who partake of it and out of the 25 or so that I can think of off of my head, only one of them isn't an upstanding member of society. People will abuse things whether they're legal or not. Look at how much stuff you have to show an id for at the store. Permanent markers, paint, super glue, etc. It's gotten pretty darn out of control.

By union state, you have to designate whether state employees or private employees are union. Unions have always been strong in parts of Texas, notably, the Houston and South East Texas areas.


There is gambling in Texas. The Alabama-Coushatta Indians at Livingston have a casino. There use to be and possibly still is a quarter horse track at Fredricksburg. Kema, Texas, many years ago was a Little Reno.

We may not like the use of drugs, though booze is a terrible and destructive drug, but quite frankly I drink little ( had a beer yesterdat with fried shrimp ) and don't do drugs ( smoked for a long time ) but what I put into my body is actually no ones business other than mind and my family's.

 

[TrailDust]

I wouldn't move to CAL or NY even if I was paid to do so. "I'll give you a million dollars" NO! I was BORN in TEXAS, LIVE in TEXAS, and will DIE in TEXAS.

FTMFW!

 

[TrailDust]

Maryland #43, California #48, New York #50....it figures, with multiple incidents exactly involving the following from each of those states:


Kids selling lemonade fined $500 for not having permit on Thursday are allowed to sell again on Friday - latimes.com


When any level of government gets to the point of regulating lemonade stands and squelching that level of personal freedom, there is only one response to that by the people......

 

[prometheus]

We need to be number 1. Time to march to Austin.

+1,000,000,000