Theoretically speaking at least, the constitution of the United States gives each state the right to have local enforcement of their own laws. Those laws have a major impact on day to day life. Some states regulate seat belts, smoking, massage therapy, raw milk and just about everything else that is an individual choice. If you’re looking to find a place where you have the most freedoms of all, you’re going to need to compromise. There is no one most libertarian state in the country (one potential contender but not yet.) There are a number of different states that seem to have specific rights based on what your preferences are. Selecting the best state for you might become a problem. Do you prefer economic liberty or personal liberty?
I want to note that this is the start of a three article series on Libertarian Locales. Switching states can help but you still need to follow the federal rules. Next I’m going to be going over the most libertarian country in the world. That’s going to make everything a bit more complicated. Last, I’m going to go over the most important thing you need to understand to improve your local freedoms.
Best Overall: New Hampshire
There is a lot of economic liberty in New Hampshire. There are a number of tax benefits that make it a very attractive state to call home. It’s personal liberty is lacking significantly compared to some other states but it’s still within the best in the nation.
One of the best advantages to New Hampshire at this time is the Free State Project. That’s a large group of libertarians that are trying to transport twenty-thousand libertarians into New Hampshire to make a political impact. While they’re getting good numbers, they’re also facing a number of major hiccups. Don’t assume it’s going to come together anytime soon. A lot of work needs to be done.
Economic Liberty: Colorado Or South Dakota
Colorado is one of the least central governments in the country. It has a very low tax burden for its residents. On the personal liberty front, it’s not ideal. It has some great freedoms but it also lacks a number of important ones. There are a number of smoking laws against cigarettes. There isn’t quite as many against marijuana.
South Dakota is a more libertarian state economically than Colorado but it gets even worse on the personal liberty front. It’s gun and gambling is a positive but private schools are led with a heavy hand and a number of drug crimes are prosecuted very harshly.
Personal Liberty: Texas
Texas is a great state for personal liberty. It’s great for people that like to enjoy alcohol and hate cops unethical invasions. It also has great opportunities for schooling. It doesn’t do too back on the economic freedom scale either. I personally see Texas as one of the best choices available.
Least Libertarian States
New York
New Jersey
California
This are the states that would rank on the lowest end of the most libertarian states. They are where you don’t want to spend your libertarian life suffering through. There are a number of scattered freedoms in these states but the vast majority of them insist upon massive government control.
Would you like to live in the most libertarian state? How about the most libertarian country?
Well, that’s the next one in this series.
*I got this from Libertarian Money and I give credit to the blogger. I just simply did not want to re-blog the post as it wouldn’t allow me (as far as I know) to categorize it under and where I wanted it to be. No forgery is intended. The original post from Libertarian Money can be accessed here.
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