Saw this neat site: It ranks the fifty states based on their freedom. And, surprise surprise, red states tend to be a lot more free. The site uses a standard, libertarian definition of freedom (i.e., no “we’re freer because we don’t have to worry about buying health care” type definitions), and with that, the blue states tend to do better in some of the social issue areas, but they just do absolutely horrible every where else. It’s like becoming a slave to the state so you have the freedom to gay marry.
Idaho is number six, BTW, and one of the reasons I like this state is you get left alone. The most free state by the rankings is North Dakota. The least free is New York (with California right behind it). Some places — especially those run by liberals — just think they’ve found some much better ideas than freedom.
I live in North Dakota, whose unofficial motto is “Live, Freeze or Die”.
Sadly, I live in the most populous city in ND (which is a little like being the largest amoeba in a water drop) which has a metro area that contains 3 colleges, all of which are hotbeds of Liberalism. You have to go to the more rural areas to find a majority who are actually freedom loving Nort Dekoders.
Hey, I live just down I-29 from zipity in South Dakota “the warmer Dakota”. All you in non-Dakota states need to get your legislators to pass some common sense legislation like North Dakota’s “if you can hear the heart beat it is a life” and South Dakota’s “if you want to avoid a school shooting let the teachers be able to fire back” recently passed laws.
i was hoping that my home state of texas would have a higher rank. probably it was austin and el paso that dragged us down…
I really need to move out of NY and breathe the sweet air of freedom.
Yet the “most free” states are not all that free, actually. Not like they used to be.
We are “law happy” in this country. We pass laws by the sack full every year.
And laws are FOREVER, kind of like Government agencies/programs and cockroaches.
I grew up in Rhode Island and as soon as I found the road outa the state, I took it! (1960)
Moved here (Western South Dakota) last December from NY! Yippee!
Free at last! Free at last! Good God Almighty I’m free at last!
20 years ago, I once drove through Mitchel, SD and stopped at a local cafe. The waitress told me houses were $35,000 and I could get all the labor I wanted for $5/hour – so move my business here PLEASE!
I told her I was headed to D.C. She frowned.
Missouri is number 5! I know St. Louis and Kansas City are holding us back. I wish I could cut the top half away and have two states. In Springfield there are 5 colleges, and 3 of them are religious. A half hour north is SW Baptist University. All the heathens live up north.
Idaho is in the top 6? Is that a result of our lawmakers getting inebriated in public, or is it the other way around? In Idaho, it seems like an arrest or three for DWI is so common among our elected officials and their appointees that it might explain why they don’t make as many laws. They can’t obey the ones we have.