New Jersey and New York Ranked as Worst States for "Individual Freedoms"

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RockX

Banned
Live free or die? New Hampshire may be on to something, according to researchers at George Mason University's Mercatus Center.
They used a variety of statistics to rank the 50 states for their just-published report on which states are the freest -- and least free -- from taxes and government regulation.
Their horserace has ranked New York as the "least free state in the Union" followed by neighboring New Jersey. New Hampshire and South Dakota were in a virtual tie for most "free" state.
The professors who authored the study believe that this freedom as they define it makes a lot of difference to the happiness and well-being of the governed.
Many people "don't want to have their lives dictated by people in their state capital," says William Ruger, political science professor at Texas State University-San Marcos, who co-authored the report with Jason Sorens, political science professor at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.



http://abcnews.go.com/Business/hampshire-south-dakota-ranked-free-states/story?id=13791773

To see where your state is ranked - http://mercatus.org/freedom-50-states-2011

Not surprised to see my fucked up state of California is # 48
 
I made a better post on this already.

Free to Lose
By Super Advisor to His Majesty, Paul Krugman


Matt Yglesias is having fun with a study from the Mercatus Center (pdf) purporting to rank states by their levels of freedom. I was disappointed to discover that New Jersey is only the second most tyrannical regime, behind New York.

One of Matt’s readers does the correlations, and finds that

The Mercatus Institute’s freedom score was significantly linked to (by state)- lower educational attainment (measured by percent of Bachelor degrees or higher), lower population density, lower per capita GDP, increased infant mortality, increased accident mortality, increased incidence of suicide, increased firearm mortality, decreased industrial R&D, and increased income inequality.
This suggests that New Hampshire, which Mercatus considers the freest state (with South Dakota just behind) has its state motto slightly off. It should be “Live free and die.”

All this reminds me of a piece I wrote way back when about those who denigrate urban, blue-state Americans as not being part of the “real America”; maybe not, but by most social measures, the blue states actually look pretty good — and they heavily subsidize those real Americans.

Also, I was struck, in the comments on my UBS piece, by one reference to the “squalor” of New York. How very 1975! Yes, there are lots of bad neighborhoods. But try visiting the Upper West Side on a nice day; if this be squalor, let’s have more of it.
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Mass is less free than NY. I should know because I lived in both. Maybe because of the huge percentage under the tyranny of the NYC government though...

No way NH is the most free. They are a police state just like Massachusetts.
 
webbway said:
Live free or die? New Hampshire may be on to something, according to researchers at George Mason University's Mercatus Center.
They used a variety of statistics to rank the 50 states for their just-published report on which states are the freest -- and least free -- from taxes and government regulation.
Their horserace has ranked New York as the "least free state in the Union" followed by neighboring New Jersey. New Hampshire and South Dakota were in a virtual tie for most "free" state.
The professors who authored the study believe that this freedom as they define it makes a lot of difference to the happiness and well-being of the governed.
Many people "don't want to have their lives dictated by people in their state capital," says William Ruger, political science professor at Texas State University-San Marcos, who co-authored the report with Jason Sorens, political science professor at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.



http://abcnews.go.com/Business/hampshire-south-dakota-ranked-free-states/story?id=13791773

To see where your state is ranked - http://mercatus.org/freedom-50-states-2011

Not surprised to see my fucked up state of California is # 48
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Watermark, since my last post set you off on a groan-fest it obviously hit the mark. I'm going to call you "Mumbles" from now on. :)
 
Damn Yankee said:
Mass is less free than NY. I should know because I lived in both. Maybe because of the huge percentage under the tyranny of the NYC government though...No way NH is the most free. They are a police state just like Massachusetts.
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They made Dumb Yankee tow his doublewide out of state to Inbredsville, North Carolina, the home of poor white trash, and he's still bitter.
 
Damn Yankee said:
Mass is less free than NY. I should know because I lived in both. Maybe because of the huge percentage under the tyranny of the NYC government though...

No way NH is the most free. They are a police state just like Massachusetts.
Click to expand...

In the last few years in NH, the 'free state project' has made quite alot of headway in to keeping the governments there in check.
 
Damn Yankee said:
Mass is less free than NY. I should know because I lived in both. Maybe because of the huge percentage under the tyranny of the NYC government though...

No way NH is the most free. They are a police state just like Massachusetts.
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I can't believe that Texas is as free as is listed.

They can take your blood without your consent, stop you and search you for no reason, and many more things that Bush and Perry have brought to Texas.

Watch out for Perry. He's a wolf in sheeps clothing.
 
Liberty said:
I can't believe that Texas is as free as is listed.

They can take your blood without your consent, stop you and search you for no reason, and many more things that Bush and Perry have brought to Texas.

Watch out for Perry. He's a wolf in sheeps clothing.
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where are you getting the stop and search without reasonable suspicion from?
 
SmarterThanYou said:
In the last few years in NH, the 'free state project' has made quite alot of headway in to keeping the governments there in check.
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I traveled through NH many times and the local cops were notorious for padding the town coffers with traffic ticket revenue. I got stopped for running a yellow at 2am with no traffic and a friend of mine got arrested for passing on the right.

They also have State liquor sales set up in an island of the interstate at the border with Massachusetts to get out-of-state sales. As long as your wallet is full and open they are very friendly people.
 
The doublewide got repossessed?

Shacks are legal in NC.

I see you counted the outhouse as a second home.

What's Dumb Yankee's beef with states whose average IQ is above body temp?
Maybe NC allows him to have his Big Love web-wives in an open cyber-marriage.
 
Then there was the time that we were having a family reunion in NH on a 60 acre wooded home site with lake that belonged to a friend of my one of my siblings. One of us set up a campfire on a sand beach next to the water and within ten minutes a local volunteer fireman drives up the 1/2 mile driveway, walks 200 yards past the house and to the beach, and asks us if we had a permit for the fire.
 
\(\(\(\/)/)/)/ said:
The doublewide got repossessed?

Shacks are legal in NC.

I see you counted the outhouse as a second home.

What's Dumb Yankee's beef with states whose average IQ is above body temp?
Maybe NC allows him to have his Big Love web-wives in an open cyber-marriage.
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Sorry troll but both developments specify the minimum square footage and finish materials for my homes. Shacks and outhouses wouldn't qualify. :)
 
Reduce the burdensome testing, notification, and recordkeeping requirements on homeschoolers.
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You do not have the right to make your children idiots. They are not pieces of property, they're human beings who have a right to basic education. Not regulating homeschooling is an infringement on freedom, as allowing individuals to harm others decreases, not increases, freedom.
 
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