Driving yesterday, I heard Sean Hannity refer to the United Kingdom (U.K.) as a socialist country. He fears that, under President Obama's leadership, the United States (U.S.) will adopt some form of nationalized medicine, and more social democratic policies of Europe, increasing the size and scope of government. He could have picked a better example from Europe than the U.K. According to the Heritage Foundation's ranking of economic freedom, the U.K. finishes as the tenth freest economy in the world, compared to our finish at sixth. It is the fourth freest of forty three countries in the Europe region. Of the British economy, Heritage writes,
The U.K. has long benefited from openness to global trade and investment. It scores extraordinarily well in investment freedom, financial freedom, property rights, business freedom, freedom from corruption, labor freedom, and trade freedom. The average tariff rate is low, and regulation is efficient. Monetary stability is well maintained. There are few restrictions on foreign investment. The financial system is well developed, and credit is allocated on market terms. The judiciary is independent and highly capable of enforcing contracts and intellectual property rights.
The U.K. scores below the world average only in fiscal freedom and government size. Both the income tax rate and the overall tax burden are high. Government spending has risen steadily.
The Fraser Institute also keeps a ranking of economic freedom, and the U.K. does even better, finishing as the fifth freest economy in the world, four places above the U.S. The U.K. is simply not a socialist country.
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