Economic freedom being the source of nearly all freedom, the US ranks 10th world-wide.
www.heritage.org/index/ranking

You can also see how we rank based on which freedoms you feel are most important. With my choices, the US is 8th.
www.freeexistence.org/freedom.shtml

<<<So, the US is the freest country in the world, as long as you don't count all the ways that other countries are freer. Got it.>>>

If you want to be free of morals fine. I don't want to live in your neighborhood. The US was founded on principles, and I will fight you and all the others on the left that want to turn this country into a European model. You seem to think that model is exemplary. If you want that type of country fine, more power to you, but that is not the US, never has been and hopefully, never will be.

<<<You need to stop uncritically inhaling the propaganda being fed to you.>>>

Again, when the left has no sane argument, you always resort to the "unthinking" drone argument. If we on the traditional, conservative side of the fence are incapable of drawing our own conclusions, then why are there so many differences in thought. If we were being fed the "propoganda" that you so quickly throw out, we would all believe exactly the same things and say exactly the same things. Somewhat like those on the progressive, liberal side do.

If you want the "social mobility" of the European states they are available to you. The US does not need to become that. We need a return to OUR traditional values. I know that's a hard concept for people whose only values are to do and say anything with no moral compass.

Don't forget about crony capitalism. Both the left and the right are sustaining that. Everything is set up in favor of the big corporations, at the expense of the small businesses, the consumers, and the taxpayers. Not that it's unusual around the world, though.

With everything on that list except "Drug Rights" being Very Important to Crucial, the US is second only to Hong Kong.

That's the problem with liberty today... everyone thinks it's only important for themselves.

yeah, you've been to cuba....as a tourist. our families lived it. get your hands out of our pockets. maybe you should go live there if you are such an apologist.

get your hands out of my pockets, communist tourist

when my family came to florida on vacation from cuba before castro, one cuban peso would get you one american dollar in exchange.
you are wrong. there has been a profound increase in poverty. amazing how these apologists and tourists buy into...........

camilo wasn't a communist. he was simply against batista. not too many in the july 26 movement were. castro wasn't going to succeed if his movement was communist. he didn't declare himself a marxist until after.

At least Cuba has more economic freedom than North Korea! And Zimbabwe. That's it though. 177th out of 179.

>>Economic freedom being the source of nearly all freedom, the US ranks 10th world-wide.<<

The Heritage Foundation's economic freedom index is pretty insanely flawed. It essentially grades countries on whether they adhere to Republican policy or not.

It also treats the informal economy in a very bizarre way that penalizes developing countries. In effect, those sectors of the economy completely free of government interference are considered as less free than those under some form of government regulation under the argument that the only reason an informal economy would crop up would be if the government is completely oppressive economically.

It's tax measurements are based only on corporate tax rates and the highest marginal tax rate - not the overall tax burden. It also only uses the nominal tax rate instead of the effective tax rate. In other words, all those deductions, subsidies and credits issued both to individuals and businesses are not considered.

>>With my choices, the US is 8th.<<

In mine, it's ninth. Close!

>>when my family came to florida on vacation from cuba before castro, one cuban peso would get you one american dollar in exchange.<<

Currency strength has almost nothing to do with the poverty level. Unless you're going to argue that Italians got poorer in the 50 years between 1949 to 1999 (when it was replaced by the euro) because their currency was devalued a few times?

the majority of the people on the island were not living in the poverty that the castro narrative you follow champions. sorry, my family was there and suffered immensely. i'm sure that you are not cuban. so, read some more and learn to look to many sources to discover the silent murmurs. your arguments are dizzying, exhausting, and a fine tuned example of lazy academics. cubans had the third highest standard of living in the americas before castro and that is a fact. castro and his reductive policies made cuba a third world country.

just some parting questions, guy.........if cubans are so free, then why are they risking their lives daily through acts of civil disobedience that are punishable there but not here? why does castro have to brutally hold on to power for 52 years? why did he bend over for the soviet union and do nothing when they invaded afghanistan who was also a member of the non aligned nations movement? why did cuba have to go into the so called "special period" after the collapse of the soviet union. why is the united states cuba's largest trading partner and benefactor despite the blockade narrative?

get your hands out of my pockets

--"The Heritage Foundation's economic freedom index is pretty insanely flawed."

I agree, but I thought it a pretty good trump card to use on an apparent hard-core conservative.

>> sorry, my family was there and suffered immensely.<<

I absolutely believe you.

>> cubans had the third highest standard of living in the americas before castro and that is a fact<<

Actually, it's not. First off, the statistic you are attempting to cite is that Cuba had the third highest per capita GDP in Latin America. Which is good, but it doesn't have much to do with relative poverty rates. The United Arab Emirates and the US have the same (more or less) per capita GDP - do you think the poverty rates in the two countries are the same?

The US has a higher per capita GDP than France, want to guess which has the higher poverty rate by nearly double? Hint: it's not France.

>>.if cubans are so free<<

I've never said they are free.

>>why did he bend over for the soviet union and do nothing when they invaded afghanistan who was also a member of the non aligned nations movement?<<

Bend over? As near as I can tell, the Soviets and Castro had a mutually beneficial relationship. The Soviets provided massive amounts of agricultural and industrial aid, along with weapons and capital and in return they got a fun way to irritate the United States for three decades.

If Afghanistan had been a major patron of Castro the way the Soviets were, I'm sure he'd have been more vocal.

>>why did cuba have to go into the so called "special period" after the collapse of the soviet union.<<

Because they were dependent on Soviet aid. I'm not sure why you think this is news to anyone except halojake.

>>get your hands out of my pockets<<

I don't even know what this means. But ok.

Seriously?

When you argue in favor of Cuba on anything it just makes me wonder.

It's better to be a quadriplegic than a deaf, dumb and blind paraplegic. What's the point?

Castro is horrible. Period.

I have to agree. Cuba just a few step above North Korea. Pretty much even with them with the propaganda the government feeds the citizens.