Red States Enjoy More Economic Freedom

The Pacific Research Institute has released its U.S. Economic Freedom Index for 2004, ranking the 50 states based on the amount of economic freedom afforded to their residents.

The institute defines economic freedom as "the right of an individual to keep what he earns, produce what he wants, and compete in product and labor markets of his choosing, subject to the restriction that he cannot use force or fraud to further his interests."

To derive its rankings the institute created indexes for 48 different criteria such as tax rates, state spending, environmental regulation, etc., giving states a rating of 1-50 in each, with 1 being most free. The state with the lowest average number was the freest.

Kansas took the top billing in 2004, replacing Idaho as the nation's most economically free state. Arizona made the most progress from 1999 to 2004, advancing 14 places. New York was again rated the least economically free state, edging California for the honors.

The chart below ranks the states from most to least economically free and shows how each of the states voted in the 2004 presidential election - either Red or Blue. President Bush won 23 of the top 25 more economically free states, while Sen. John Kerry (D.-Mass.) picked up just two. You'll see that states that Kerry won are concentrated in the less economically free regions of the country.