Quote of the Day

LIBERTY

“If there’s one thing the American experiment proves, it’s the power of freedom to transform lives. If you let people control their own destinies, there’s no limit to what they can achieve. But if you bind them with the straitjacket of central planning, smother their creativity with over-regulation, fence them in with high tariffs and take their hard-earned money with high taxes, you kill their dreams even as you wreck an economy. That’s the central lesson of the ‘2008 Index of Economic Freedom,’ just released by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. A country-by-country survey of how free people are worldwide to direct their own economic fortunes, the Index repeatedly demonstrates the vital link between freedom and prosperity. Simply put, the freer people are, the more an economy grows—and the more everyone benefits... Economic freedom is about more than just the bottom line. When you give people the liberty they crave, you do more than boost an economy—you make it possible for men and women to improve their lives. In the words of the Declaration of Independence, they’re free to engage in ‘the pursuit of happiness.’ And as the Index proves, it’s a virtuous cycle that leaves everyone better off than they were before.” —Rebecca Hagelin