How free is your state? Why has New York gone from a beacon of liberty to a state that people now flee in droves? And why are people moving to places like Florida, New Hampshire and South Dakota?

Way back in the early 2000s, Jason Sorens paired up with AIER president William Ruger to find out.

Jason joined Kate Wand on Liberty Curious to discuss his book, Freedom In the Fifty States, and the interactive tool that measures economic and personal freedom across American states. Now in its 7th edition, Sorens and Ruger use a data set that measures over 230 policies from all 50 states to see how well each state performs.

Jason Sorens is Senior Research Faculty and founder of the New Hampshire Free State Project. They discuss the freest and least free states, voting with your feet, and surprising findings from the latest edition. Jason also emphasizes the role of individuals in changing policies and promoting freedom in their states.

*** Please note that the opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and her guests. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Institute for Economic Research. The content presented in this show is intended for educational purposes only, and should not be considered as financial advice. ***

0:00 - intro

1:28 - What is Freedom in the 50 States?

4:24 - Personal freedom & economic freedom

8:19 - Which state is the most free?

10:01 - Florida & New Hampshire

14:15 - Can a free state insulate you from Federal Government overreach?

18:10 - The states ranking lowest in freedom

19:51 - What happened to New York?

23:37 - Freedom vs High Taxes & Paternalism

26:30 - Biggest surprises

29:30 - Correlation between Red/Blue states

32:15 - Purple states

33:00 - Updates in this edition

35:00 - The interactive tool: freedominthe50states.org

38:06 - How to use this tool

40:46 - Is policy what really affects freedom?

43:25 - How can people change policy?

46:30 - Last thoughts?

freedominthe50states.org

aier.org/podcasts