Free Markets work; Leftist Central Planning Doesn't

[Hoosier4Liberty]

The single most infuriating site for leftists is, by far, the Heritage Index of Economic Freedom (or alternatively, the Frasier Index).
Country Rankings: World & Global Economy Rankings on Economic Freedom

Both show a strong relationship between a country's economic freedom and its quality of life. This is no accident. Free-market liberal(in the CLASSICAL sense of the word, not the spread-your wealth, kill-the-rich statist philosophy of "liberals" today) economic policies lead to unprecedented prosperity. Take Chile and Venezuela. Even though Venezuela is far richer in natural resources than Chile, the inflation rate in Venzuela is 15x that of Chile and the poverty rate is double Chile's. Also look at Africa. The two countries with the most economic freedom, Mauritius and Botswana, are easily two of the most livable African countries.

How Economic Freedom Leads to Prosperity | Video | Stossel in the Classroom

Economic freedom is the #1 reason why I changed my ideology from liberal to conservative-leaning libertarian. Liberals, please realize the error of your ways. You just can't argue against economic freedom.

 

[The Rabbi]

But it's **unfair**!

 

[occupied]

Wow, look at all those socialist counties that have been totally ruined by a national health care system and strong labor protections in the top 10.

 

[Hoosier4Liberty]

Wow, look at all those socialist counties that have been totally ruined by a national health care system and strong labor protections in the top 10.

Look, that's just one component of economic freedom. But countries like Singapore and Switzerland have a free-market system. Chile has individual medical savings accounts. In fact, these countries have freer healthcare markets than most near the bottom.

But economic freedom's not just about healthcare. It's also about taxes, tariffs, regulations, government spending, and property rights. And liberals fall on the wrong side of all of those things.

 

[National Socialist]

Yep sure do! They work to make the gap between the rich and the rest of us even larger. Its wonderful! I would love free markets as well if I was say one of the Walton's who are worth more than the bottom 30% of people in this country. That's just 6 of them. All the while the workers at Wal Mart ya know the ones actually selling the Chinese made crap get minimum wage and get to apply for welfare to make ends meet and then get fired for trying to organize for better wages and safer work conditions.

 

[occupied]

Wow, look at all those socialist counties that have been totally ruined by a national health care system and strong labor protections in the top 10.

Look, that's just one component of economic freedom. But countries like Singapore and Switzerland have a free-market system. Chile has individual medical savings accounts. In fact, these countries have freer healthcare markets than most near the bottom.

But economic freedom's not just about healthcare. It's also about taxes, tariffs, regulations, government spending, and property rights. And liberals fall on the wrong side of all of those things.

Sure, I was really making light of the hyperbole that occurs when the topic is government run healthcare or labor rights. By their highly subjective measure it seems economic freedom CAN exist in spite of or because of the government actually taking care of the sick and hungry and (gasp) strong labor unions.

 

[RightDown]

Unregulated free markets crash...all the time. Without governmental regulation, free markets destroy...they don't enable.

Economic Freedom...hahahah, the fraser group, another right wing cesspool, ran that gimmick first.

Pure propaganda. This scam institute has been nailed multiple times for pushing junk.

[A]s Nova Scotia Finance Minister Graham Steele put it: “The Fraser Institute produces junk. It is not a serious institution. It is a political organization.”

 

[zeke]

Wow, look at all those socialist counties that have been totally ruined by a national health care system and strong labor protections in the top 10.

Look, that's just one component of economic freedom. But countries like Singapore and Switzerland have a free-market system. Chile has individual medical savings accounts. In fact, these countries have freer healthcare markets than most near the bottom.

But economic freedom's not just about healthcare. It's also about taxes, tariffs, regulations, government spending, and property rights. And liberals fall on the wrong side of all of those things.

Problem you have with your thread there hoosier, we don't live and function in a "free market" system. We live and function in a rigged capitalist system.

There is a big difference. One example; in a "free market" the banks would have been allowed, actually required, to fail during the '08 economic collapse.

In a "capitalist" system, the failing banks get bailed out by the government.

See the difference?

 

[occupied]

Wow, look at all those socialist counties that have been totally ruined by a national health care system and strong labor protections in the top 10.

Look, that's just one component of economic freedom. But countries like Singapore and Switzerland have a free-market system. Chile has individual medical savings accounts. In fact, these countries have freer healthcare markets than most near the bottom.

But economic freedom's not just about healthcare. It's also about taxes, tariffs, regulations, government spending, and property rights. And liberals fall on the wrong side of all of those things.

Problem you have with your thread there hoosier, we don't live and function in a "free market" system. We live and function in a rigged capitalist system.

There is a big difference. One example; in a "free market" the banks would have been allowed, actually required, to fail during the '08 economic collapse.

In a "capitalist" system, the failing banks get bailed out by the government.

See the difference?

Yep, the whole world is rigged to periodically experience bubbles and crashes, a world-wide pump and dump scheme that serves to make big banks ever bigger. It has been going on so long that many see it as a natural right of the capitalist to manipulate things to their advantage.

 

[The Rabbi]

Wow, look at all those socialist counties that have been totally ruined by a national health care system and strong labor protections in the top 10.

Look, that's just one component of economic freedom. But countries like Singapore and Switzerland have a free-market system. Chile has individual medical savings accounts. In fact, these countries have freer healthcare markets than most near the bottom.

But economic freedom's not just about healthcare. It's also about taxes, tariffs, regulations, government spending, and property rights. And liberals fall on the wrong side of all of those things.

Sure, I was really making light of the hyperbole that occurs when the topic is government run healthcare or labor rights. By their highly subjective measure it seems economic freedom CAN exist in spite of or because of the government actually taking care of the sick and hungry and (gasp) strong labor unions.

Government doesnt take care of sick people. Doctors and nurses do.
Geez, the faith in big daddy government in libs is so strong it is like a religion. We have clean air because of gov't. We have roads because of gov't. We have medicine because of gov't. It's like no one ever had those things before gov't stepped in and did all of them.

Every country with a government run health care system has experienced what we are now experiencing: runaway costs, long delays for treatment. The US had the health care system that was the envy of the world. Almost all new drugs on the market were developed here. Almost all new techniques and technology were developed here. People came here from all over the world seeing treatment because we had state of the art. Our survival rates from cancer, heart attacks, and strokes was the top.
Not anymore. The dead hand of gov't is chasing the best and brightest out of the field. With no incentive for innovation, there will be no innovation.

 

[peach174]

Yep sure do! They work to make the gap between the rich and the rest of us even larger. Its wonderful! I would love free markets as well if I was say one of the Walton's who are worth more than the bottom 30% of people in this country. That's just 6 of them. All the while the workers at Wal Mart ya know the ones actually selling the Chinese made crap get minimum wage and get to apply for welfare to make ends meet and then get fired for trying to organize for better wages and safer work conditions.

Everywhere that Big Government is implemented, always brings the middle class down.
History has proved that when Socialism is put into government, it always ends up where there is only rich and poor. Middle class always goes away.

Middle class income has been declining since the 1970's
What ideology took over our Government in the 70's? Socialism. The more public assistance programs the less you have of the middle class.

In 1970, the share of U.S. income that went to the middle class was 62 percent, while wealthier Americans received just 29 percent. But by 2010, the middle class garnered 45 percent of the nation’s income, tying a low first reached in 2006, compared to 46 percent for upper-income Americans.

Since 2000, the median income for America’s middle class has fallen from $72,956 to $69,487
The more government takes from the middle class for Government assistance programs the less the middle class has.

 

[Norman]

It also seems that concentrating power into the hands of a few (politicians) does not lead to equality (wow, who could have thought?). Instead as the government has grown, so has the inequality.

 

[peach174]

Sad thing is, the rest of the world is starting to move away from lefty ideology while we are moving head long into it.

 

[william the wie]

Unregulated free markets crash...all the time. Without governmental regulation, free markets destroy...they don't enable.

Economic Freedom...hahahah, the fraser group, another right wing cesspool, ran that gimmick first.

Pure propaganda. This scam institute has been nailed multiple times for pushing junk.

[A]s Nova Scotia Finance Minister Graham Steele put it: “The Fraser Institute produces junk. It is not a serious institution. It is a political organization.”

There is no equilibrium. All government regulation does is extend and deepen the downturns as witness Canada's resource and housing bubbles that are dependent on the ongoing Chinese bubble not blowing up. And the Chinese bubble will never blow up as long as US and EU automation stays above roughly $8.00/hr. Current numbers on Rethink Robotics models is $3.40/hr. It should take 6-18 months to get the programming good enough to put them in US factories and 12-24 months for purchase and installation.

But don't worry Canada and especially Nova Scotia is invulnerable.

 

[HelenaHandbag]

Wow, look at all those socialist counties that have been totally ruined by a national health care system and strong labor protections in the top 10.

Wow, look at the non sequitur machine run on full spin!

 

[oldfart]

Every country with a government run health care system has experienced what we are now experiencing: runaway costs, long delays for treatment. The US had the health care system that was the envy of the world. Almost all new drugs on the market were developed here. Almost all new techniques and technology were developed here. People came here from all over the world seeing treatment because we had state of the art. Our survival rates from cancer, heart attacks, and strokes was the top.
Not anymore. The dead hand of gov't is chasing the best and brightest out of the field. With no incentive for innovation, there will be no innovation.

That's interesting. All of those government run systems spend half or less than what the US does on health care, and almost all of them have better outcomes. You are substituting propaganda for health statistics and have everything backward.

 

[The Rabbi]

Every country with a government run health care system has experienced what we are now experiencing: runaway costs, long delays for treatment. The US had the health care system that was the envy of the world. Almost all new drugs on the market were developed here. Almost all new techniques and technology were developed here. People came here from all over the world seeing treatment because we had state of the art. Our survival rates from cancer, heart attacks, and strokes was the top.
Not anymore. The dead hand of gov't is chasing the best and brightest out of the field. With no incentive for innovation, there will be no innovation.

That's interesting. All of those government run systems spend half or less than what the US does on health care, and almost all of them have better outcomes. You are substituting propaganda for health statistics and have everything backward.

They do not have better outcomes. You made that up.

 

[HelenaHandbag]

Every country with a government run health care system has experienced what we are now experiencing: runaway costs, long delays for treatment. The US had the health care system that was the envy of the world. Almost all new drugs on the market were developed here. Almost all new techniques and technology were developed here. People came here from all over the world seeing treatment because we had state of the art. Our survival rates from cancer, heart attacks, and strokes was the top.
Not anymore. The dead hand of gov't is chasing the best and brightest out of the field. With no incentive for innovation, there will be no innovation.

That's interesting. All of those government run systems spend half or less than what the US does on health care, and almost all of them have better outcomes. You are substituting propaganda for health statistics and have everything backward.

Those countries also don't spend hundreds of billions every year operating military bases on foreign soil.

Your point?

 

[The Rabbi]

Every country with a government run health care system has experienced what we are now experiencing: runaway costs, long delays for treatment. The US had the health care system that was the envy of the world. Almost all new drugs on the market were developed here. Almost all new techniques and technology were developed here. People came here from all over the world seeing treatment because we had state of the art. Our survival rates from cancer, heart attacks, and strokes was the top.
Not anymore. The dead hand of gov't is chasing the best and brightest out of the field. With no incentive for innovation, there will be no innovation.

That's interesting. All of those government run systems spend half or less than what the US does on health care, and almost all of them have better outcomes. You are substituting propaganda for health statistics and have everything backward.

Those countries also don't spend hundreds of billions every year operating military bases on foreign soil.

Your point?

It's also not comparable because Europeans have a much different lifestyle than Americans. And Europe doesn't have millions of inner city Negroes with atrocious health habits.