Freedom Was Once Upon A Time A Sound Currency

“The essence of freedom is the limitation of government.  Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.  Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." –Winston Churchill

Did you know?  The Cato Institute published yet another report, in a litany of many reports, documenting the decline of freedom in America.   The latest report utilizes data through 2013 and reports that once again the United States has dropped from 2^nd place in 2000 to a dismal 16th position.  They report that the United Kingdom, Canada, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Ireland, Jordan, Mauritius (tiny island east of Madagascar) and even Chilean citizens now report to have more freedom than U.S. citizens.  Could this possibly explain our dismal growth and real job formation here in the U.S.?

Freedom is measured in five broad areas: how sound his currency is, the size of the government, the security an individual has in his property rights, what degree of freedom he has to trade and travel internationally, and how much the government regulates his private and business transactions.  The authors at Cato report that, “Virtually without exception, our studies have found that countries with institutions and policies more consistent with economic freedom have higher investment rates, more rapid economic growth, higher income levels, and a more rapid reduction in poverty rates.”  Not exactly the information that one who supports progressive Socialism would want to acknowledge or accept!

http://www.freetheworld.com/2015/economic-freedom-of-the-world-2015.pdf

The Cato writers concluded, "We find that living in a country with high overall economic freedom is a relevant determinant of feeling in control of one’s own life, economic freedoms and influences individual happiness by giving people the feeling of being more in control of their lives and having the freedom to choose between different options in the market."

In another study by Cato, they stated that the United States fell from 17th place worldwide to 20th, reflecting “a long-term drop in every category of economic freedom and its rule of law.”

If you choose to discount the Cato Institute findings, listen to what the Heritage Foundation has reported as well.   In the, “2015 Index of Economic Freedom”, the United States again declined from 2^nd place in 2000 to 12th place.  The U.S. decline had accelerated dramatically over the past five years from 2010 to 2015 and they stated, “reflecting the broad-based deterioration in key policy areas, particularly those related to upholding the rule of law and limited government.”

Consider that statement to our Constitution: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

Next a report from Canada’s Frasier Institute called, “The Human Freedom Index” shows yet again the once great U.S. falling from 17^th place to 20^th place in just one year.  "The U.S. performance is worrisome and shows that the United States no longer can claim to be the leading bastion of liberty in the world. In addition to the expansion of the regulatory state and a drop in economic freedom, the war on terror, the war on drugs, and the erosion of property rights due to the greater use of eminent domain all likely have contributed to the U.S. decline."  Unless the decline is halted, “it will cut the U.S. historic growth rate of 3% by half.”

Did we not all grow up believing that here in America we were freer than the world’s citizens?  Wasn’t America the dream that other world nations admired and worked to remake their own nations into?  This index reports that even Qatar, Chile, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Georgia (the old Soviet Republic), Jordan, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australian citizens enjoy more freedom than we do here in America.  What Americans have experienced in the past 8 years, losing their jobs, their homes, their businesses and their dreams is the proof that their control is gone.  These various reports quantify and verify the real truth that our freedoms have been eroded vicariously in the past few decades.  Yet this truth is ignored by our governance and grossly mis-understood by the masses in ignorance or denial.   

Aldous Huxley, wrote the ‘Brave New World’ in 1958 a year after I was born and he said, “In 1931 … I was convinced that there was plenty of time to implement the completely organized society, the scientific caste system, the abolition of free will … servitude made acceptable. These things were coming, but not in my time, not even in the time of my grandchildren. Twenty-seven years later I feel a good deal less optimistic. In the West, individual men and women still enjoy a large measure of freedom. But this freedom and even the desire for this freedom seem to be on the wane.”

Just over my lifetime, in nearly 60 years, it is apparent that our government, with its rapacious appetite, has come almost completely un-tethered from its constitutional restraints and the entitlement mentality predicted by Huxley.  If our government continues to thrive and grow like a super bug spreading its waistline it will continue to reduce and remove our freedoms.  Just as Jefferson noted in his letter to Edward Carrington in 1788, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground.”

Many a great nation has fallen and it is our turn, to return to ashes abetted by forces and interests working to hasten our decline and ultimate demise.  Have you acknowledged the world is changing ever faster?  What is your defense mechanism to survive the destructive change?  Have you taken any steps to shore up your foundation as the storm approaches?  Currency stabilization can only be achieved by purchasing and securing precious metals.  If you haven’t started stacking you might consider what taking such inaction could cost you and your family!   

In closing allow me one last quote many may relate to, “Poor people have been voting Democratic their whole lives, and they are still poor.”- Charles Barkley