We proudly declare that we are America and Free, but are we?  How Free are we?  How do we stack up against other countries in the world?  The Cato Institute, an American Libertarian ‘think tank’ based in Washington, DC is reportedly one of the top ‘think tanks’ in the world.  They released their “Human Freedom Index” which is a very broad measure of personal, civil, and economic freedom around the globe.  This report is co-published by the Cato Institute, Fraser Institute (Canada) and the Liberales (Germany).  Where do you suppose, the United States Ranks and how has that changed during the eight years of Barack Obama.  I suspect you suspect it has declined and you are right if that was your assumption.

These researchers considered 76 indicators in 152 countries to calculate the degree people are FREE in so many areas it would be difficult to list them all but freedom of speech, religion, and association are among those.  The New Human Freedom Index ranks the United States as 20^th among the 152 countries. You might say, “That’s not bad,” but I must ask, “Is it that good?”  When Barack Obama took office in 2009 the United States was 16^th, in 2015 was 20^th and in 2016 dropped to 22^nd in the world.  Please take note of the decline, which I believe was part and parcel of Obama’s plan of ‘fundamental transformation’ of America.  He sought to punish us and he did just that in more ways than I could list or even know.

If you find that disturbing it is worse than that, according to the report.  Using Appendix J, the ranking in Personal Freedom’s aggregate numbers listed the USA astoundingly at 28^th.  But, who are the top 10?  From 1-10, Demark, Austria, Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Iceland, and United Kingdom.  The next tier is Australia, Belgium, Canada, Poland, Czech Republic, Malta, Hong Kong, Slovenia, Italy, New Zealand, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and France. Then you get to the United States. That list should trouble you greatly, it does me.  I can understand that we might not be NUMBER ONE but we should NEVER be NUMBER TWENTY-EIGHT.  The fact that we have dropped from 16^th to 28^th is appalling and a clear indication that my ranting about the size, scope, and danger of the all-intrusive and invasive Big Government is valid.  We have watched our Freedoms disappear and most did not realize it was happening or are in denial that it has or is happening.  IT IS TIME TO DRAIN THE SWAMP of bureaucrats and politicians.  We dropped 12 spots in 8 years and if we do not change course how much more will we drop?

The Human Freedom Index ranked us 16^th in Economic Freedom and while 16^th might not sound bad it is not as good as it could or should be.  Who is on the list ahead of America?  Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, Ireland, Canada, Mauritius, Georgia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Australia, Qatar, Chile, Jordan, Lithuania and then the good old U.S. of A.  If you were one of those that believed the spin of the Democrats and the Obama administration that our economy was strong, you might want to think again.  If you thought that the Obama administration was interested in America and Americans, you might want to think again.  We have slowly but surely lost ground in the world and our Freedoms have been eroded needlessly and wrongly.  I do not know if Donald Trump, a businessman, can turn the economy around and alleviate some of the stifling Government Regulations that the Obama administration imposed but I pray that he can.  I pray that the Republicans in Congress will find a SPINE and defend our freedoms and help return America to our rightful place as a FREE REPUBLIC and once again make us the “Land of the Free, as well as the Home of the Brave.”

When our top marginal tax rate is recorded at a 5.0 out of 10.0 that is astounding and must change if we are to have a restored economy and see America once again burst forth with economic growth.  When the size of government is listed as 6.41 out of 10.0 that should be disturbing for it indicates how massive and intrusive the Federal Government is.  When Business Regulations is scored as 6.63 out of 10.0 we should be concerned.  Our Military Intelligence was rated as 6.67 and that is assuredly not good.  This report indicates that the government is consuming a significant portion of our economic gains and the insane spending by the Federal Government is drowning us in debt and that is detrimental to our Economic Stability.

Most Americans are not financially stable and live from paycheck to paycheck.  Yet, many, if not most still demand their amenities such as flat screen televisions, new automobiles that we finance of 6,7 or 8 years, and insist that owning a house we cannot pay for is part of the America dream and our Right.  We complain about politics and politicians but who elects them?  WE DO!  We have not paid proper attention to their antics and actions and ousted them when they violated our trust.  Instead, we rewarded them with a 2^nd, 3^rd, or 10^th term in office and helped facilitate the Ole Boy System that is destroying our Republic.  It seems to me that too often we major in minors and allowed the guilty in DC to go free rather than doing our homework, paying attention, and faithfully going to the voting booths and rewarding many of them with PINK SLIPS saying, YOU’RE FIRED!  We are not as free as we probably thought but we can return to our rightful place in the world and be FREE.

God, bless you and God bless America!