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A new study has ranked the best states for “freedom,” in terms of tax policy, education options, and other personal and fiscal liberties — and the results aren’t kind to California or its governor.
The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, ranked states and their leaders based on their support for personal and economic liberties in its “Freedom in the 50 States” report, published Monday.
The institute assigned numerical rankings and letter grades based on government spending and taxes, business regulations, and restrictions on building. In the personal freedom category, the study weighed policies like school choice, the right to bear arms, the freedom to make one’s own medical choices, and adherence to the First Amendment.
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California was near the bottom — 44th — receiving an “F” grade, or 1.95/10, in the group’s overall freedom score. It was 48th in “economic freedom,” according to the institute, though it fared somewhat better on the personal freedom front, ranking 34th.
Gov. Gavin Newsom himself ranked an abysmal third-to-last, or 48th total, for pushing policies that make the state less free, in the eyes of Cato Institute.
“The governor scores might also be best thought of as gauging the direction they are taking their state,” wrote Cato analyst Stephen Slivinski, who authored the study, in a blog post.
“If the status quo of a state is already generally pro-liberty and a governor hasn’t done anything to change or damage that, they will receive the same score as the state,” he explained. “But if a governor is pushing reforms that make the state freer on net—and especially if they are the reason the state is in good shape—they will receive a higher score than the state.”
Newsom’s office was contacted for comment.
The California governor has been knocked for approving tax hikes, which include two new recently enacted levies on health care and software that were collectively dubbed the “largest tax hike in state history” by one anti-tax group.
The Cato Institute has also cited California’s employment regulations, which include a statewide minimum wage of $17.40 starting next year, onerous licensing requirements, and lack of a “right to work” law as impediments to entrepreneurship.
California has also been dinged for onerous zoning and environmental laws that critics say have slowed down housing, contributing to skyrocketing home costs.
The Cato Institute’s top-ranking governor was Gov. Greg Gianforte of Montana, who received an “A” from the group.
The second runner-up was Democratic Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, who received high marks for expanding the state’s medical marijuana program and other health care options, alongside support for the First Amendment after he vetoed laws that could have restricted social media use.
He also got props for reducing law enforcement overreach by narrowing cops’ ability to use a “qualified immunity” defense in civil claims.
The third- and fourth-place governors were Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas.
The freest states, according to Cato Institute, were Arizona, Montana, Nevada, Florida and Idaho.
The worst-performing governors were New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green followed by Newsom, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey.
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