In a separate story, I’ve outlined how the United States compares in overall freedom around the world. The news wasn’t ideal, based on a study we’re 15th or 17th. Far freer than most of the world but no longer the beacon of freedom this country was founded upon. This is in large because of freedoms we’ve ceded to state and federal governments overtime. It’s something we should be mindful of in the future when voting as well. We don’t really have elections that center on the idea of whether freedom is on the ballot but in reality, it is.
It’s not complicated if you support candidates who support more government intervention in our lives and the accompanying higher taxes. You support less freedom. Period. Anyway, here we sit in the 15th or 17th most free country in the world and specifically in Florida. So how does living in Florida factor into our overall freedom?
According to the study Economic Freedom of North America by the Fraser Institute, Florida is the 2nd freest state in the country. Appropriately only New Hampshire, the "Live Free or Die” state ranks ahead of us. Round up the top five states for freedom are Texas, South Dakota, and Tennessee.
You’ll notice a political trend. These are all traditional red states. Political leadership clearly does matter. Now you might be thinking New Hampshire voted for Biden, Clinton and Obama, thus it’s a blue state but it’s not. Not at the state level. They have a Republican governor and actually just flipped their state legislature from Democrats to Republicans in this election cycle.
Now, guess which states are the least free. If you guessed California and New York, you’re correct. There are times when perception meets reality. But even then, that’s not to say Florida is next to perfect. Our score is 7.74 out of ten. We’ve ceded a lot of freedom with high taxes at the local level, especially in South Florida. Still, it’s a far cry from the 4.13 score of New York. In reality, you’re nearly half as free in New York compared to Florida.