Freedom!

[filbert]

Something to (generally) feel good about (that is, if you live in South Dakota and think that freedom is more or less a good thing).

George Mason University (link to a PDF) rated the states according to several measures of "freedom."

SD rated:
#2 in fiscal policy,
#8 in regulatory policy,
#1 in economic freedom,
#24 in personal freedom.

I haven't bothered to read the entire PDF (link above) but all in all I think those are good scores (although we all need more personal freedom, don't we?)

In case you're wondering, Filbert's adopted home state of Missouri rates:
#6 in fiscal policy,
#22 in regulatory policy,
#9 in economic freedom,
#6 in personal freedom.

South Dakota ain't a bad place to live, all things considered. Nowhere's perfect. SD isn't bad.

[1stRowFANatic]

Re: Freedom!

I read something on this study, and the investigators found it notable that politically conservative states tend to allow more economic freedom and less personal freedom. Liberal states are the reverse. The effect, and not trying to get political, but everyone has something in common: they want government involvement in parts of their life. Problem is nobody agrees on which parts.

[Hammersmith]

Re: Freedom!

I read something on this study, and the investigators found it notable that politically conservative states tend to allow more economic freedom and less personal freedom. Liberal states are the reverse. The effect, and not trying to get political, but everyone has something in common: they want government involvement in parts of their life. Problem is nobody agrees on which parts.

First of all, this was a report based around libertarian views. It doesn't mean it's bad, but it helps to understand what a high or low score means. The study found that extremely liberal states(NY, NJ) were at the bottom of the ranking, while the most conservative(AL, MS) fell in the middle. The highest ranked states tended to be lightly conservative or centrist. I read through most of the criteria and found some stuff I didn't like, but most should be acceptable to all but the most extreme on either wing.

BTW, North Dakota:
Fiscal: 7th
Regulatory: 2nd
Economic: 4th
Personal: 33rd (too much victimless crime prosecution/drug laws/anti-gay marriage I'd guess)
Overall: 10th