The Heritage Insider: Economic freedom matters, bad arguments are being made for gas taxes, minimum wage does hurt jobs after all, and more
February 6, 2016 Economic freedom is still the key to prosperity. “Economies rated ‘free’ or ‘mostly free’ enjoy incomes that are over twice the average levels in all other countries and more than four times higher than the incomes of ‘repressed’ economies. Nations with higher degrees of economic freedom prosper because they capitalize more fully on the ability of the free-market system to generate and reinforce dynamic growth through efficient resource allocation, value creation, and innovation. […] “The global average economic freedom score of 60.7 is the highest recorded in the 22-year history of the Index. It is noteworthy that despite recent policy missteps by many countries in responding to the global economic slowdown, the free-market system continues to flourish, accepted by governments around the world as the system most likely to improve the well-being of their populations and eliminate poverty. […] “Of the 178 economies ranked in the 2016 Index, five (Hong Kong,...