A "solid C," they call it in school. Not flunking, certainly, but also not excelling. The United States earned a 75.4 on the Heritage Foundation's 2016 "Index of Economic Freedom," which grades countries on such factors as property rights, government spending, business freedom, monetary freedom and fiscal freedom (taxation).
Any score above 80 is considered "free." At the head of the class, as usual, was Hong Kong (88.6).
A score from 0 to 49.9 is considered "repressed." In 177th place was Castroite Cuba (29.8), and rock bottom, 178th place, was erratic dictator Kim Jong Un's North Korea (2.3).
Our country has scored much higher; in 2007, the U.S. stood in fourth place, with a score of 82. Barack Obama became president in 2009, and his policies largely are to blame for this decline, according to Heritage. But we would add that President George W. Bush was in the White House when the Great Recession hit in 2007-08.
The Republican presidential candidates generally favor more economic freedom, and the Democratic candidates want more controls. But the dismal economic performance of both parties while in power propels this political season of discontent.
Editorial on 03/03/2016