George Rebane
Are we ever! Heritage just released its 2017 Index of Economic Freedom (more here) for the nations of the stuck in the middle of a muddle of countries that can’t seem to get their act together. (Top ten shown) For us it is doubly troubling because however our burgeoning socialist population has been taught to think otherwise, Calvin Coolidge’s abbreviated dictum – ‘The business of America is business’ - must be observed today more than ever. (H/T to reader for the heads up)
Instead, the US economy has been purposely kept in the doldrums during the Obama regime, not because we didn’t know how to kick it back into gear, but only to serve a globalist ideology (cf Agenda21) which calls for the US to be reduced to economic and military peerage with other second world countries. Woefully short on successes in his domestic and foreign policies, Barack Obama nailed his economic and military goals for the country.
President Trump has his work cut out to rebuild the shambles he inherited. The biggest problem that the US has to solve is how to reconfigure our economy so that the 70-90 million (and growing) systemically unemployed will remain as a socially stable cohort of Americans who can be supported by the rest of us. Hint for the lightly read: The last thing we need now is to import unskilled people from cultures that have declared their hatred for America.
Also troubling is that our strong suit, technology development by entrepreneurial start-ups, is being discounted by other competing countries whose students have a different attitude about studying STEM subjects. Germany is beginning to wake up and its government is finally promoting such start-ups. For example, today Berlin’s commercial real estate rentals are hard to get and in great demand by start-up companies in a manner similar to the south-of-Market-St high tech boom that San Francisco has enjoyed. We are already feeling the impact of these overseas young people with fire in their bellies. (more here)
Nevertheless, America is ready for a big change. The investment world led the anticipatory fervor by putting its money in play during the 2016 election year. One very visible indicator of this is that the market capitalization of the SP500 companies increased by a phenomenal 25% in one year, from $16T to $20T. That’s how you spell ‘anybody but Obama’.
All this is more supportive evidence that the socialists, led by their money mavens like the internationalist Soros, cannot afford to have President Trump and the Republicans succeed during the next four years. America clearly voted for a radical change in November, and were that kind of success to happen, it would give the most obvious lie to everything that our socialists have been preaching for the last eight years, and also all that they have been rioting against and ‘disrupting’ since the votes were cast.
As you can see by the graph in the link, Obama already made America great as office space rents in the Bay Area in 2015 are at all time highs.
As usual, we are first and the rest of the world has to try to catch up.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2015/10/sf-office-tech-boom-bubble-fitbit-pinterest-apple.html#g1
Posted by: BradC | 15 February 2017 at 02:59 PM
Why do liberal democrats want to starve school children!? Our most vulnerable citizens!
http://dailycaller.com/2017/02/15/california-schools-cut-meat-cheese-from-lunches-to-fight-global-warming/
Posted by: fish | 15 February 2017 at 03:01 PM
My first thought is that many of the 'top ten' in economic freedom are also quite low in personal and religious freedom. And many of those countries are basically dictatorships of some sort. But not all of them are. Interesting. China is probably the best example. Well, Hong Kong, but we all know China lied about how it would treat Hong Kong after the British handover. Even some dictatorships know which side of the bread is buttered. There is even an amazing amount of creativity from China in some fields, although in many areas, China lags badly compared to Europe and the Americas. What I think you would find in those 10 countries is an attitude of 'there is no free lunch'.
Sadly, that is lacking in the USA. Here, economic freedom equals the fact that some one will do better than the person next door. And it's not fair. The left wants equal outcomes and the right wants equal opportunity under the law. There lies the great divide.
Posted by: Account Deleted | 15 February 2017 at 03:02 PM
Posted by: BradC | 15 February 2017 at 02:59 PM
Ten trillion in conjured money Brad.
Posted by: fish | 15 February 2017 at 03:07 PM
ScottO 302pm - not sure about your use of "many" in ascribing the top 10 as dictatorships. Which ones? And when bringing up Hong Kong and the UAE please consider that you can also lose your job and reputation in the US for espousing anti-PC sentiments in many workplace, school, and professional environments.
BradC 259am - I hope it doesn't elude you that those SF entrepreneurs were the rare birds in the US who are STEM proficient and with their success help increase the wealth chasm between them and our middle class which has been both ignored and sorely tested during the Obama years. And if I recall, the infamous wealth chasm is one of your main socialist talking points against capitalism, a chasm that you have no problem creating and countenancing as long as the political contributions keep coming in.
Your well-heeled donors know how to ignore the Dem's rhetoric about the notorious 1% as long as it piques the ire of the legions of double dummies who will then vote correctly.
Posted by: George Rebane | 15 February 2017 at 03:17 PM
"not sure about your use of "many" in ascribing the top 10 as dictatorships."
Ahem - you sort of cut off the sentence.
Of some sort.
3 is many. Argue if you will.
Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE, and possibly Chile. I hear good and bad things about Chile.
Canada is one big cesspool as to their regard of free speech. NZ, NH and Aussie-land have some serious problems in re to personal freedoms. The possibility of loss of job, friends, etc, in this country is very real, but not the result of govt policy, if you are talking private sector. In the govt sector it is real everywhere. All countries. And the more economic freedom there is, the greater the threat of being canned because the boss doesn't like the cut of your jib.
My idea of economic freedom is the least amount of govt interference in my program of providing value for money for the public. In fact, the govt, as a tax payer supported entity, should be aiding me in that regards.
On the other hand, many of the countries listed as having the top 10 ten economic freedoms are sadly lacking in personal and religious freedoms.
Try setting up a Christian church in UAE or China.
Posted by: Account Deleted | 15 February 2017 at 04:06 PM
I realize you might think this off-topic, but I believe it matters.
https://www.axios.com/fb-live-continues-to-be-an-outlet-for-gruesome-crime-2263120588.html
Not a lot of other countries would (will) put up with this sort of real time reality. Too much freedom. And yet we need to know. Reality TV is the most un-real, dishonest sort of crap and at the same time, these terrible tragedies might make folks think about what works and what doesn't. I have some serious concerns for unhinged people and what they might do for a world audience, but there have always been those that seek a crowd for their sickness. If we don't like real time murders, maybe we should deal with the reality of murder. China is getting pretty good at censoring the internet despite the many assurances that no one could shut down the internet.
Posted by: Account Deleted | 15 February 2017 at 05:32 PM
AAAhhhhh.... Another do nothing agency to bite the dust. Except to pay huge salaries.
http://dailycaller.com/2017/02/15/ted-cruz-introduces-one-line-bill-to-abolish-warrens-consumer-agency/
Izzy Warren gets scalped. Her hair dresser might be out of a job.
Posted by: Walt | 15 February 2017 at 05:49 PM
ScottO 532pm - Good points; think 'Hunger Game'.
Posted by: George Rebane | 15 February 2017 at 08:43 PM