President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks during the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 100th Annual Convention Monday, January 14, 2019, at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour)
Originally posted on January 30, 2019.
The Heritage Foundation just released the 2019 Index for Economic Freedom. And there is good news, reports Bright editors:
Tax Cuts, Jobs Acts, Strong Deregulatory Agenda
Under President Trump, the U.S. rose six spots over the past year, from the 18th most free economy in the world, to the 12th.
According to Anthony Kim, this was in large part to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and the president’s strong deregulatory agenda.
The vibrant growth we’re feeling has been unleashed by several key policy changes over the past two years, the most important being the 2017 tax cuts and deregulation. Real gross domestic product grew by upward of 3 percent over the last four quarters—unlike anything seen in the last 13 years. No wonder small business optimism has risen.
Wages Rising; Unemployment Lowest in 50 Years
More remarkably, almost half of the states in the union now enjoy their lowest unemployment rates ever recorded by the Labor Department. Wages are rising for the first time in two decades, with an overall unemployment rate of 3.8 percent, matching the lowest rate in 50 years.
Here are the top 12 countries in terms of economic freedom:
- Hong Kong
- Singapore
- New Zealand
- Switzerland
- Australia
- Ireland
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- United Arab Emirates
- Taiwan
- Iceland
- United States
