A Nation in Decline<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O />
By Tom DeWeese           
Many politicians are asking the question today: "Why are the American People so angry?" The following may lend a clue to the clueless.
According to the annual "Index on Economic Freedom," produced by the Heritage Foundation, the United States now ranks 8th, just behind Canada. That's a drop of two full points since last year, and the largest drop of all nations in overall economic freedom. .The index ranking is based on 10 measures of economic openness, regulatory efficiency, the rule of law, and competitiveness. The basic principles of economic freedom emphasized in the index are individual empowerment, equitable treatment and the promotion of competition.According to the Heritage Index, the U.S. lost ground in seven of the ten categories. Losses were particularly significant in the areas of financial and monetary freedom and property rights. Driving it all were the massive bailouts, government intervention in such things are the auto and banking industries, and runaway environmental protection policies.While the United States is among the "most declined" nations, Mexico ranks among the "most improved." The United States was once the bastion of economic and personal freedom for its citizens, making it the wealthiest economy and the highest standard of living in the world. Today, it has chosen to abandon that model of freedom, instead seeking economic security through government programs and controls.As a result, our nation stands on the edge of economic collapse; more than 10% of our people are out of work; costs are skyrocketing, and goods and services are becoming harder to come by.Socialism does not work. It robs the fruits of labor from one citizen to fill the pockets of another. It kills incentive. It demoralizes industrious people. And it leads to misery. Socialism combined with Fascist Corporatism (as in the current trend toward Public/Private Partnerships) creates government-sanctioned monopolies, giving the corporations the reins of power over government at the expense of the people. That is the model America has now chosen to follow.The United States is on a path to destruction. In one year it's dropped two more points toward totalitarianism. The people feel the pain and are furious about it. And yet, the Obama Administration still thinks the anger and protests are just false products of the Republicans and Fox News. Astonishing.See the complete Economic Freedom Index at http://www.heritage.org/index/