In his article last week on the United States’ economic freedom ranking, Per Bylund writes:
The importance of economic freedom to our overall well-being must not be undervalued. Defined as the degree to which individuals, families and businesses are free to make decisions and sculpt their lives without government interference, economic freedom is increasingly being eroded by numerous regulations, exploding government spending, high taxes, and disregard for rule of law and property rights. Furthermore, this report, which has been conducted since 1995, shows that economic freedom is a core driver of economic growth and prosperity.
Oklahoma actually ranks among the top states in terms of economic freedom, but this is of little comfort as the nation as a whole sinks. In fact, the federal government’s continued expansion is piling an increasingly heavy burden onto
Oklahomans.
Apparently, the article produced a strong reaction. Dr. Bylund emails:
“[The article] led to a very angry lady calling the university president’s office (she was so belligerent they called to warn me and considered calling the police).”
What exactly made her so angry remains unclear, although not everyone got mad about it. KRMG TV picked up the story:
But overregulation, civil asset forfeiture, eminent domain, and other factors have combined to make the country much less business-friendly, according to Per Bylund of Oklahoma State University. Bylund is Records-Johnston Professor of Free Enterprise and Asst. Professor in the School of Entrepreneurship at OSU. He tells KRMG he’s blowing the whistle to draw attention to what he sees as major obstacles to economic growth and freedom in the country, but admits there are few easy solutions. “The problem is not only that we’re doing worse compared to other countries, but that we’re actually doing worse, objectively speaking, compared to 15 years ago,” he said Tuesday.
