Last week the Post and Courier, the local Charleston paper, reported on a story that surprised me Freedom: Where does South Carolina rank? The Mercatus Center at George Mason University has just released a new economic freedom of the state's index. This index joins others from the Fraser Institute and Pacific Research Institute. The reporter of the articles makes an important point in understanding what is at the heart of the issue for a state like South Carolina "There's a big difference between being conservative and being free. Actually, the most 'free' states are usually the moderately conservative states, according to the study." What distinguishes the Mercatus Index compared to the others is that is examines personal freedoms as well as purely economic freedoms. South Carolina scored 17 on economic freedom, but not surprisingly the state dipped to No. 40 on personal freedoms. Overall South Carolina ranked in the middle of the pack. So who is at the top and bottom? New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Indiana ranked in the top three. The bottom three were California, New Jersey, and New York.
That the index looks beyond pure economic freedom to issues of medical marijuana, gun control, and gambling makes it a welcome addition to this literature and one that we should all take a close look at to understand freedom.
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