the 50 states, ranked on freedom

[dead0man]

link=CATO so if that triggers you, keep it to yourself.

The rankings (freest first)
1. Florida 0.481
2. New Hampshire 0.432
3. Indiana 0.342
4. Colorado 0.334
5. Nevada 0.324
6. North Dakota 0.266
7. Tennessee 0.264
8. South Dakota 0.258
9. Arizona 0.231
10. Kansas 0.216
11. Missouri 0.205
12. Georgia 0.184
13. Virginia 0.173
14. Michigan 0.158
15. Alaska 0.153
16. Montana 0.150
17. Idaho 0.147
18. North Carolina 0.138
19. Oklahoma 0.127
20. Pennsylvania 0.116
21. Texas 0.093
22. Utah 0.091
23. Massachusetts 0.089
24. Wisconsin 0.074
25. Ohio 0.066
26. Nebraska 0.051
27. Iowa 0.042
28. Alabama 0.042
29. South Carolina 0.032
30. Louisiana 0.016
31. Arkansas 0.015
32. Kentucky −0.012
33. Connecticut −0.018
34. West Virginia −0.019
35. Illinois −0.023
36. Washington −0.026
37. Minnesota −0.036
38. Wyoming −0.039
39. Maine −0.060
40. Mississippi −0.066
41. New Mexico −0.068
42. Rhode Island −0.087
43. Delaware −0.117
44. Oregon −0.133
45. Maryland −0.209
46. Vermont −0.270
47. New Jersey −0.357
48. California −0.406
49. Hawaii −0.604
50. New York −0.813

[Karpatsky]

This list seems to look only at government policy for freedom indicators, which is a really skewed way to look at it. Is someone who can only shop at the company store 'freer' than someone whose state law prohibits such things?

[dead0man]

This list seems to look only at government policy for freedom indicators, which is a really skewed way to look at it. Is someone who can only shop at the company store 'freer' than someone whose state law prohibits such things?

are there Americans in 2018 that can only shop at the company store?

[Sic Semper Tyrannis]

This list seems to look only at government policy for freedom indicators, which is a really skewed way to look at it. Is someone who can only shop at the company store 'freer' than someone whose state law prohibits such things?

are there Americans in 2018 that can only shop at the company store?

What is an example?

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

Florida at #1 lol. Especially with its ban on 40s and laws on marijuana.

And there's three legal marijuana states in the bottom 10!

[Sir Mohamed]

FL, where state employees are prohibited from using the term "climate change"? LOL

[IndustrialJustice]

It's Cato, so I'm sure 90 percent of the formula is dependent on their occupational licensing obsession.

[หมูเด้ง]

It's Cato, so I'm sure 90 percent of the formula is dependent on their occupational licensing obsession.

For this, it's Fake News.

[dead0man]

weird, I assumed a state rankings done by CATO would be embraced here.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

This list seems to look only at government policy for freedom indicators, which is a really skewed way to look at it. Is someone who can only shop at the company store 'freer' than someone whose state law prohibits such things?

are there Americans in 2018 that can only shop at the company store?

What about all those small towns where the only store is a Walmart?

[Brittain33]

weird, I assumed a state rankings done by CATO would be embraced here.

You trolled that troll in the first post already...

[Deportarian]

This list seems to look only at government policy for freedom indicators, which is a really skewed way to look at it. Is someone who can only shop at the company store 'freer' than someone whose state law prohibits such things?

Well government policy usually hinders freedom.

[Badger]

As expected considering the source, a highly misleading ranking.

Amazing that a bunch of southern states with heavy mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws still make it least the middle to upper middle level pack. I guess it's even out by those States social welfare net making it basically a sh**ty place to have a handicapped child or the like.

[dead0man]

This list seems to look only at government policy for freedom indicators, which is a really skewed way to look at it. Is someone who can only shop at the company store 'freer' than someone whose state law prohibits such things?

are there Americans in 2018 that can only shop at the company store?

What about all those small towns where the only store is a Walmart?

show me a town that only has a Wal Mart.....I'll wait.  While we wait, can someone tell me why the family that owned the old grocery store that Wal Mart ran out of business in this hypothetical town is more important than every other person in that town?

[dead0man]

weird, I assumed a state rankings done by CATO would be embraced here.

You trolled that troll in the first post already...

indeed, some people missed it

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Amazing that a bunch of southern states with heavy mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws still make it least the middle to upper middle level pack. I guess it's even out by those States social welfare net making it basically a sh**ty place to have a handicapped child or the like.

This is like how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce always puts out its rankings that list Singapore as one of the freest countries in the world (even after it outlawed chewing gum).

[หมูเด้ง]

Amazing that a bunch of southern states with heavy mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws still make it least the middle to upper middle level pack. I guess it's even out by those States social welfare net making it basically a sh**ty place to have a handicapped child or the like.

This is like how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce always puts out its rankings that list Singapore as one of the freest countries in the world (even after it outlawed chewing gum).

It should be more precisely labeled "the freedom to be rich" or " the freedom for rich people" index.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

Amazing that a bunch of southern states with heavy mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws still make it least the middle to upper middle level pack. I guess it's even out by those States social welfare net making it basically a sh**ty place to have a handicapped child or the like.

This is like how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce always puts out its rankings that list Singapore as one of the freest countries in the world (even after it outlawed chewing gum).

It should be more precisely labeled "the freedom to be rich" or " the freedom for rich people" index.

[CookieDamage]

Amazing that a bunch of southern states with heavy mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws still make it least the middle to upper middle level pack. I guess it's even out by those States social welfare net making it basically a sh**ty place to have a handicapped child or the like.

This is like how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce always puts out its rankings that list Singapore as one of the freest countries in the world (even after it outlawed chewing gum).

It should be more precisely labeled "the freedom to be rich" or " the freedom for rich people" index.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Amazing that a bunch of southern states with heavy mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws still make it least the middle to upper middle level pack. I guess it's even out by those States social welfare net making it basically a sh**ty place to have a handicapped child or the like.

This is like how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce always puts out its rankings that list Singapore as one of the freest countries in the world (even after it outlawed chewing gum).

It should be more precisely labeled "the freedom to be rich" or " the freedom for rich people" index.

Deadoman is very concerned with the ongoing oppression of Rich White Christians in America.

[JA]

Amazing that a bunch of southern states with heavy mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws still make it least the middle to upper middle level pack. I guess it's even out by those States social welfare net making it basically a sh**ty place to have a handicapped child or the like.

This is like how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce always puts out its rankings that list Singapore as one of the freest countries in the world (even after it outlawed chewing gum).

It should be more precisely labeled "the freedom to be rich" or " the freedom for rich people" index.

[Badger]

Amazing that a bunch of southern states with heavy mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws still make it least the middle to upper middle level pack. I guess it's even out by those States social welfare net making it basically a sh**ty place to have a handicapped child or the like.

This is like how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce always puts out its rankings that list Singapore as one of the freest countries in the world (even after it outlawed chewing gum).

It should be more precisely labeled "the freedom to be rich" or " the freedom for rich people" index.

Deadoman is very concerned with the ongoing oppression of Rich White Christians in America.

 yes, I don't think he's that concerned about the Christian oppression part, and only limited concerned about protecting points. Actually, it's really not about the people who do push laws protecting rich white Christians, so much is he fears the people posing them as a far greater danger to Liberty 4 interfering in lazy Faire capitalism. Silly, but to each their own.

[Dr. Arch]

FL!? 

[Pyro]

Honored to be a resident of CATO's 'least freedom' state.

[john cage bubblegum]

Any list that has Florida, the state with the most disgustingly restrictive laws on felon disenfranchisement, at #1 is hot garbage.  There's a chance that could change after November, but for now approximately 10% of adult Floridians cannot vote because of this, the vast majority of whom are not in prison.

I disagree with many of CATO's viewpoints, but I still would have expected better.