Now more than ever New Yorkers find themselves bound by the whims of their domineering Albany overlords, according to the liberty-loving folks over at George Mason University, who just put out their 2013 Freedom in the 50 States rankings. Once again, we land dead last when it comes to state and economic freedoms.
According to the rankings [pdf], which the University's libertarian Mercatus Center compiles every two years, in 2011 the Empire State had the highest taxes in the country, along with stiff health insurance regulations, expensive rent control costs, high government debt and poor labor laws. And of course, we've got notoriously limited personal freedoms when it comes to things like tobacco and drinking on stoops, though on the bright side, we got props for having low alcohol taxes and looser marijuana laws. And at least we can still drink as much goddamn soda as we want! Who says New York isn't here to party?
Researchers recommend we cut spending to governmental programs like police and fire departments, hospitals, libraries and public transit, abolish rent control and slash tobacco taxes if we want to join the freewheeling ranks of states like Tennessee (3rd), Utah (10th) and North Dakota, which is reportedly the freest state of them all. Meanwhile, the Mercatus Center made a sad video documenting all the freedoms New York's been denied all these years; watch below, and let the Seatbelt Law rage curdle inside you.
