Gene Epstein, the longtime economist-columnist at Barron's has at least in part as far as we know an Austrian bent, recently wrote an excellent piece about economic freedom and it's decline in the U. S.
He describes two eras, 1970 through 2000 and 2000 up to 2015, using the Frasier Institute's freedom index to show a similar trend. The index, in short, tracks the "degree to which free-market capitalism is allowed to work," he writes. Point is, since 2000 the index has been declining, all other things considered.
The last year, 2013, full data is available, but here's the bottom line, as Epstein notes: "Rich countries enjoy higher levels of freedom and vice versa." An important element of any index is objectivity. Epstein says: "The data that drive it are not retrofitted to reflect anyone's hobbyhorse." Think Federal Reserve data. It's less objective than a Bernie Sander's campaign worker. Epstein discusses Sanders and his so-called plan, but we will leave that for later.
The index is composed of five components, equally weighted: size of government;legal system and security of property rights; soundness of money; freedom to trade internationally; and regulations of credit, labor, and business.
What Epstein leaves out but what's obviously implied is that economic freedom is inextricable from personal freedom and, yes, personal sovereignty. Whereas globalism was once all the rush, a panacea for all and everything with its emphasis on free trade and open borders, people are having second thoughts. The UK upcoming election in June is an example.
Despite the criticism people with second thoughts are unjustly getting, second thoughts are hardly a bad thing. If more government and more regulation is the answer--and so far it's track record has hardly proved the case--people are waking up, just another example of what goes around.
"It is therefore noteworthy," Epstein concludes, "that while all five components of the U.S. Index have fallen since 2000, the largest decline by far has been in the quantitative measures underlying our legal system and property rights."
The U.S.in this category is now behind several the of "so-called socialism of Scandinavian countries," Epstein says, taking an obvious shot at Sanders who has claimed he wants to emulate their kind of socialism.
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