Florida moves up 5 places on “Freedom in the 50 States” scale

Governor Scott during his inaugural address stated, “Florida has to offer the best chance for financial success. Not a guarantee – just the best chance. Three forces markedly reduce that chance for success—taxation… regulation… and litigation. Together those three form “The Axis of Unemployment”.” He went on to state, “Private sector jobs grow in places where public sector spending is kept within bounds.” Now there is a website that measures what Governor Scott referred to as the “axis of unemployment”.

Freedom in the 50 States released its revised and updated ranking of the American states based on how their policies promote freedom in the fiscal, regulatory, and personal realms.

Florida has gone up 5 places since 2009.

According to Freedom in the 50 States:

Florida is a moderately fiscally conservative state that has gone a long way to attract business, but has not done nearly as much as its neighbor Georgia. In addition, it lacks respect for many civil liberties.

Florida ranks well above average on most fiscal policies; however, while the index shows its tax burden declining slightly between FY 2008 and FY 2010, it also shows its debt burden rising to 21.3 percent of personal income. Property and general sales taxes are higher than average, although there is no individual income tax.

Click on your state to see its freedom score.

Freedom in the 50 States notes that Florida, “Due to a history of in-migration, real property rights and land-use regulation have been hot-button issues. On the one hand, local zoning laws are fairly restrictive, but on the other, compensation is required for certain regulatory takings, and the state has adopted the nation’s furthest-reaching reform of eminent domain. Labor law is generally pro-market, apart from a minimum wage, but independent occupations face a thicket of licensure requirements.” Read more.

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