State by State: "Freedom Index" Released

State by State: "Freedom Index" Released

How free is Rhode Island and each of the 49 other states? The Mercatus Center at George Mason University has build an index of "Personal and Economic Freedom."

The liberterian think tank released its study to highlight the impact of legislative restrictions, "we have added more policy variables (such as bans on trans fats and the audio recording of police, Massachusetts’s individual health-insurance mandate, and mandated family leave), improved existing measures (such as those for fiscal policies, workers’ compensation regulations, and asset-forfeiture rules), and developed specific policy prescriptions for each of the 50 states based on our data and a survey of state policy experts."

According to the Mercatus Center's Study, the granite state's whole, "Live Free or Die," motto seems to be paying off as they grabbed the top ranking.  Big surprise - Alaska, home of Sarah Palin 44th and just one position ahead of Rhode Island's 45th ranking.

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Speaking of Rhode Island, the study reports:

Rhode Island is one of the least-free states in the country and performs poorly on all categories. Its fiscal policy is a mess, with spending, taxes, and debt all very high—though it is not as bad in these areas as New York and California. Oddly, however, government employment is fairly low...Gun control is quite strict, but not quite at the harsh levels of neighbors Massachusetts or Connecticut. Alcohol regulations are a bit strict but taxes are low across the board. The marijuana regime is extremely poor for a liberal state (life imprisonment is the maximum sentence). However, there is a medical-marijuana exception.

The report also offer some policy changes to help Rhode Island improve their score on the index of "Personal and Economic Freedom."

Policy Recommendations

1. The most obvious areas for cutting spending locally are police and fire departments, where expenditure is well above national norms as a percentage of state income. State-employee retirement and unemployment compensation are also far above average. Property taxes are especially high and could be cut.

 2. Reduce the maximum sentence for marijuana offenses.
 3. Pass a same-sex civil-union law.

See the researchers overview video.