Canada’s Fraser Institute has just released its 2012 Report on Economic Freedom across the world. In the words of the Institute itself: “The United States, long considered a champion of economic freedom among large industrial nations, continues its protracted decline in the global rankings. This year, the U.S. plunged to 18th, its lowest ever ranking and a sharp drop from second overall, the position it held in 2000.” As the Institute points out, research shows that people living in countries with high levels of economic freedom enjoy greater prosperity, more political and civil liberties, and longer life spans.
Bad news.