Jay Evensen
  • Front Page
  • Opinions
  • Second Thoughts
  • Portfolio
  • Awards
  • About

U.S. needs to stem its troubling slide on freedom index

8/19/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Seattle’s gum wall is an example of how the marketplace of ideas can go in directions no single person could predict.

About 20 years ago, people began sticking chewed gum to the walls of an alleyway below Pike Place Market. Wikipedia says workers at a nearby theater tried to scrape it off, but more just kept coming. Today it is a must-see tourist attraction. A few days ago, while on a family vacation, I joined a steady stream of visitors in examining the colorful blobs of mastication, trying not to think of the germs or what my clothes might look like if I stumbled into the stuff.

I also tried to imagine what the reaction might be at a typical city council meeting if someone proposed creating such a thing as a way to attract visitors, or as an idyllic backdrop for wedding photos. Someone from the health department surely would testify before the unanimous “no” vote.


And yet the wall satisfies an apparent market need while complimenting a quirky part of a city whose residents like to explore limits. Plus, in a slimy sort of way, it’s fun, so long as you don’t lose track of small children who may be prone to pulling gum off and sticking it in their mouths.

It is a goofy monument to freedom, in a strange sort of way. But it is hardly a measure of freedom. Gum wall or no, the United States isn’t doing so well on that front.

The Libertarian Cato Institute has just published its latest Human Freedom Index, which bills itself as “A global measurement of personal, civil and economic freedom.”  The United States came in 20th, which the report’s authors said is worrisome.

The institute’s Ian Vasquez said the poor ranking “shows that the United States can no longer claim to be the leading bastion of liberty in the world.” Who, then, will fill that void?

Hong Kong topped the index, followed by Switzerland, Finland, Denmark and New Zealand. Canada came in sixth. None, in my estimation is a replacement for the United States, with its simple and powerful list of constitutional rights. Hong Kong’s recent democracy protests show it may not be on top for long.

The list nearly mirrors the annual Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, which also ranked Hong Kong first this year and Canada sixth. The United States came in 12th on that one, dragged down by, among other things, the Affordable Care Act, “which has reduced competition in most health insurance markets, (and) remains a drag on job creation and full-time employment,” the report said.

But Cato’s human freedom report is perhaps more significant because it measures things such as religious freedom, the freedom of expression and other First Amendment rights, as well as the size and scope of government.

The latest report used data from 2012, the last year for which the authors said sufficient information was available. The United States suffered from growing government regulation, a lack of press access to government and invasions of privacy related to the war on terror.

It makes me wonder how much farther we have slipped since 2012, now that the federal government is trying to force its will on religious organizations that don’t want to provide abortion services, the scope of NSA spying has been uncovered and violations of press freedoms are growing. Prosecutors in St. Louis County, for instance, are insisting on pressing charges against two reporters for allegedly contributing to civil unrest by recording protests in Ferguson, Mo.

The two reports are more than just interesting measures. Both draw compelling correlations between freedoms and wealth, as well as democracy and other factors that affect innovation and overall happiness. They even demonstrate a connection between economic freedom and environmental protection. Freedom matters in significant ways.

I’ll admit the gum wall analogy is far from perfect. Seattle is hardly an example of a place with low taxes, and the wall is a sort of community-sanctioned vandalism of private property.

But it does illustrate the futility of central planning as compared to the colorful and surprising results of freedom, something Americans ought to appreciate more. 

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Search this site


    Like what you read here?

      Please subscribe below, and we'll let you know when there is a new opinion.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Picture

    The author

    Jay Evensen is the Senior Editorial Columnist of the Deseret News. He has nearly 40 years experience as a reporter, editor and editorial writer in Oklahoma, New York City, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. He also has been an adjunct journalism professor at Brigham Young and Weber State universities.

    Archives

    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    Categories

    All
    Campaign 2012
    Congress
    Crime
    Culture
    Iran
    Oil And Gas
    Poverty
    Steroids
    Taxes
    Utah
    Washington
    World Events
    World Events

    Links

    Deseret News
    Newslink
    Marianne Evensen's blog

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.