Wednesday March 3, 2021
  • Venezuela
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Podcast
Versión Español
PanAm Post
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
PanAm Post
No Result
View All Result

Home » Cars-for-Hire and Kissing Our Economic Prosperity Goodbye

Cars-for-Hire and Kissing Our Economic Prosperity Goodbye

José Azel by José Azel
June 27, 2014

Tags: freedom indexIdeology
0
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterTelegramWhatsapp

EspañolThe good news is that economic freedom is advancing worldwide. That is the finding of the Heritage Foundation’s 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, which covers 186 countries and encompasses 99 percent of the world’s population. In measuring economic freedom, the index analyzes countries’ commitment to the rule of law, principles of limited government, regulatory efficiency, and open markets. Hong Kong and Singapore lead the rankings as the world’s freest economies and Cuba and North Korea close the ranks as the most repressed economies.

The bad news is that the United States is on an opposite path, as the only country that has registered a decline in economic freedom for seven consecutive years.

RelatedArticles

China Plans to Launch ‘Crypto-Yuan’ to Bolster Communist Regime’s Control

China Plans to Launch ‘Crypto-Yuan’ to Bolster Communist Regime’s Control

January 15, 2021
Purchase of Damaged Dollar Bills Is the Latest Unusual Business in Venezuela

Purchase of Damaged Dollar Bills Is the Latest Unusual Business in Venezuela

January 14, 2021

A microcosmic example of the regulatory environment that overawes our entrepreneurial spirit is currently playing out in our community, and elsewhere, in the form of roadblocks and actual persecution of ride-sharing modernizers Lyft and UberX. These visionary ride-sharing companies match passengers with drivers using technology in an innovative win-win fashion. The car-for-hire industry, however, is not happy with these new competitors that confront their oligopolistic practices.

What we have yet to learn, and our political class ignores, is that economic success is not our natural birthright. Economic liberty must be defended because prosperity cannot survive without economic freedom and the innovations that it ushers. When was the last time you rented a movie from Blockbuster or bought film from Kodak?

The last two years of the Bush presidency and the first two years of Obama’s presidency marked the largest expansion of state power in the United States since the 1930s. As a result, the United States continues to lose ground in economic freedom. Since 2007, the United States has tumbled from one of the top 10 freest economies to 12th place. According to the index’s rankings, the United States is no longer considered a “free” economy, but only “mostly free.” The United States has now earned the dubious distinction of being second only to Argentina in recording the longest sustained decline in economic freedom in the 20-year history of the index.

There is a clear positive relationship between economic freedom and the level of prosperity in a given country. As documented by the index, countries with greater economic freedoms reach higher incomes and better standards of life, whereas governments that take over their countries’ economies impoverish the citizenry.

And yet, the economic and regulatory policy direction of the United States is fast-tracking the loss of our economic freedoms with a substantial growth in the size and scope of government. Moreover, cronyism and corruption — classic byproducts of the expansive use of government to manage economic activity — are further eroding economic freedom.

The material-prosperity case for economic freedom is clear cut. The data show that the free-market system has fueled unprecedented economic growth around the world. Over the past two decades, as the global economy has moved toward greater economic freedom, hundreds of millions of people have risen out of poverty. In our microcosmic example, upstarts Lyft and UberX offer not only higher value for consumers, but also a source of income for the drivers.

The moral case for economic freedom is equally clear cut, albeit less obvious, thus allowing for a specious case to be made for government controls. The powerful taxi interests, claiming they are defending public safety, are trying to make such a paralogical case against competitors Lyft and UberX along the lines of unfair competition. That proposition is close to an oxymoron.

In an essay accompanying the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, Professor John Tomasi of Brown University seeks to make the ethical case for economic freedom as the most moral of societal arrangements and a societal good in its own right. By protecting economic freedom, he argues, we respect others as our moral equals and we assert that governments must respect citizens as responsible authors of their own lives. “Diminishing personal agency in economic affairs — no matter how lofty the social goal — may drain vital blood from a person’s life.”

Speaking for this author of his personal life, I must go now, as my Uber app just notified me that my UberX driver is here to pick me up.

This article first appeared in the Miami Herald.

Tags: freedom indexIdeology
Previous Post

Venezuela’s Emigration Wave Takes Toll on Mental Health

Next Post

Why a Honduran Has No Choice but to Flee to the United States

José Azel

José Azel

José Azel is a scholar and author. Dr. Azel‘s latest book is “Reflections on Freedom.”

Related Posts

China Plans to Launch ‘Crypto-Yuan’ to Bolster Communist Regime’s Control
Asia

China Plans to Launch ‘Crypto-Yuan’ to Bolster Communist Regime’s Control

January 15, 2021
Purchase of Damaged Dollar Bills Is the Latest Unusual Business in Venezuela
Venezuela

Purchase of Damaged Dollar Bills Is the Latest Unusual Business in Venezuela

January 14, 2021
Why the Real Villain of 2020 Was Big Government
Coronavirus

Why the Real Villain of 2020 Was Big Government

January 9, 2021
Diosdado Cabello Sidelined in Chavista National Assembly
International Relations

OPEC Reaches Production Agreement Without Lowering Guard Due to New COVID-19 Wave

January 6, 2021
No OPEC Consensus, Oil Production Uncertain
News

No OPEC Consensus, Oil Production Uncertain

January 5, 2021
Why Most Fell for the Lockdowns, While a Few Stood for Liberty
Analysis

Why Most Fell for the Lockdowns, While a Few Stood for Liberty

January 5, 2021
Next Post
Why a Honduran Has No Choice but to Flee to the United States

Why a Honduran Has No Choice but to Flee to the United States

Discussion about this post

Subscribe free and never miss another breaking story

  • Venezuela
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Podcast

© 2020 PanAm Post - Design & Develop by NEW DREAM GLOBAL CORP. - Privacy policy

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact

© 2020 PanAm Post - Design & Develop by NEW DREAM GLOBAL CORP. - Privacy policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Privacy and Cookie Policy.