How free is your state?

[axiomata]

A study performed by George Mason's Mercatus Center ranks the 50 states in economic and social freedom.

The pdf of the study is here, and I urge you to take a look at it as it has a number of great charts placing the states on a political compass Cartesian coordinate system.

I'll include the overall freedom ranking as an image below, but again the original pdf is worth a look.

I've only lived in #42 and #44 unfortunately. My family is from #6 and I've always wanted to live there. (Go Cardinals!) Also, if I can find a good civil/structural engineering job in #1, #2, or #4 I would consider moving.

 

[Bruno]

#16.

 

[porcupine]

I live in #1

 

[american.swan]

I grew up in number 5 before leaving for Korea.

 

[Pennsylvania]

Lol @ the bottom ten. All predictable (though I don't know much about Maryland)

 

[constitutional]

Yeah, I was surprised to see MD down there.

"Maryland is the fifth least free state in the country.
The state is 34th in economic freedom but a distant
50th in personal freedom. Maryland’s impositions on
personal freedom include the second-strictest gun
laws in the country, and marijuana laws are fairly
harsh (except that the first offense of high-level possession
is a misdemeanor, and there is a weak medical
marijuana law), motorists’ freedoms are highly
restricted, gambling laws are tight, home schooling
laws are burdensome (curricula must be approved
by the government), centralized land-use planning
is very advanced, eminent domain abuse is totally
unreformed, victimless crimes arrest rates are high,
and civil unions are not recognized. On the plus side,
taxes on beer, wine, and spirits are fairly low, and
overall Maryland has one of the least restrictive alcohol
control systems in the country. Surprisingly, the
state has not enacted complete smoking bans yet. On
economic regulation, the state has the usual left-ofcenter
failings on labor law, but more strikingly it has
the second-most health insurance mandates in the
country (they add 67 percent to the cost)."

 

[sparebulb]

I live in #6, but it feels much more like #47 or #48. At least I can carry a pistol open or concealed.

 

[BuddyRey]

#23

I'm dying to get to New Hampshire!

 

[malkusm]

I live in Maryland. Trust me, I'm not the least bit surprised by that ranking.

 

[Zuras]

Would be nice if they go back to % party identification or voting in national elections to say how great the correlation is between a democratic/republican voting population and freedom. Obviously just the smell test screams that blue states = low freedom.

The media always tells me how the repubs want to regulate what I do in the bedroom. But they don't like to talk about how the dumbocrats want to regulate every detail of my life.

 

[axiomata]

Would be nice if they go back to % party identification or voting in national elections to say how great the correlation is between a democratic/republican voting population and freedom. Obviously just the smell test screams that blue states = low freedom.

The media always tells me how the repubs want to regulate what I do in the bedroom. But they don't like to talk about how the dumbocrats want to regulate every detail of my life.

I found the link over at the Volokh blog. One of the commenters did a quick analysis of that.

Here's the comment:

Just out of curiosity I went back over how the 10 "most free" and 10 "least free" states voted last November.

The 10 "least free" states account for a total of 170 electoral votes, and all 10 of them went to Barack Obama - no surprise there.

Meanwhile the 10 "most free" states account for a total of 102 EVs. Unlike Obama who swept the "least free" states, John McCain managed to carry just seven of the ten "most free" states, for an EV tally of 76-26 in the "most free" states. In fact the two "most free" states, New Hampshire and Colorado both went to Obama. Here's the state-by-state breakdown:

NH 4 Obama
CO 9 Obama
SD 3 McCain
ID 4 McCain
TX 34 McCain
MO 11 McCain
TN 11 McCain
AZ 10 McCain
VA 13 Obama
ND 3 McCain

I will leave you to draw your own conclusions about what all this portends for the "most free" states, and for the country in general.

 

[Zuras]

I think McCain is an american hero unrelated to his politics, but I don't think conflating the last election results with these freedom ratings is a great idea. Choosing between Obama nad McCain for president is like that age old question: would you rather freeze to death or burn to death?

 

[thrillhouse]

A study performed by George Mason's Mercatus Center ranks the 50 states in economic and social freedom.

The pdf of the study is here, and I urge you to take a look at it as it has a number of great charts placing the states on a political compass Cartesian coordinate system.

I'll include the overall freedom ranking as an image below, but again the original pdf is worth a look.

I've only lived in #42 and #44 unfortunately. My family is from #6 and I've always wanted to live there. (Go Cardinals!) Also, if I can find a good civil/structural engineering job in #1, #2, or #4 I would consider moving.

Well if you ever go socialist and want a civil/structural job in #49 I could totally accomodate you.
I really gotta get out of here....

 

[roho76]

I think McCain is an american hero

Oh GAWD!!! Please don't say that anymore. I beg you.

 

[South Park Fan]

Unfortunately, live in #47.

 

[american.swan]

Would be nice if they go back to % party identification or voting in national elections to say how great the correlation is between a democratic/republican voting population and freedom. Obviously just the smell test screams that blue states = low freedom.

That is talked about in the PDF. They refer to a balance, because very republican Mississippi isn't at the top of the list.

 

[Scofield]

I've lived in #50, New York State, my entire life. I love my town, and I don't want to leave it, but I do disagree with the policies of the State.

I will always love New York, I just wish we could get a change of government.

 

[nate895]

I was born in 47, then moved to 44. I am going up the latter, yeah!!!

 

[Roxi]

apparently i either really love a challenge or am completely insane, because i moved from a # 6 state to a #29 state ugh.

 

[Roxi]

I think McCain is an american hero unrelated to his politics, but I don't think conflating the last election results with these freedom ratings is a great idea. Choosing between Obama nad McCain for president is like that age old question: would you rather freeze to death or burn to death?

really? politics aside... talk to some POW/MIA people, i think you will change your mind about that hero thing

also check this site

http://vietnamveteransagainstmccain.com/