Ron Paul’s new channel launched today! 
I am looking forward to what this channel has and will offer. So far there is not that much simply because it just started. It has updates from the channel’s latest tweet and Facebook post. You can subscribe and pay for exclusive material. The link can be seen here.
When I first saw this it was both a surprise and not a surprise. Christie, ever since Hurricane Sandy, has been hanging out with Obama. I’m not saying that in particular is bad, except Christie seemed a little too excited to be with Obama, especially as a Republican. With Hurricane Sandy I see no problem with people of being different political parties coming together and helping fellow Americans. But Christie has been getting heat from Rand Paul and heated exchanges continued between those two. I see that as one of the reasons Christie did this move because of the heat he got from certain Republicans. Another reason was because he spent time with Obama. I feel that the views Christie has about Libertarians brought fuel to the fire…and again with Rand Paul. It will be interesting when the results of the New Jersey Governor Election will be among the 2014 Midterm Elections. I feel that Christie will either win by a landslide or lose by a landslide. His support, or lack of support, from Republicans could either help him or work against him. And it must be noted that the end of the article, it says it is political satire. The link can be seen here.
This is interesting about the polling numbers. One has to ask if there is a correlation between the recovery plan presented by Obama, the unemployment numbers, and the lack of significant gains of job growth since Obama was elected in office. Reasonable to say yes. I wonder if the numbers will stay that same (or near the same) while Obama is in office, assuming there is a correlatio. If the Oval Office is to be elected to the GOP in 2016, and how good or how bad the economy will be, will the numbers fluctuate according to the economy? Who’s to say? Only time will tell. The link can be seen here.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on top of yet another poll today. But it’s not the result her team was hoping for. In a new Rasmussen Reports poll, Clinton tops five others as the one candidate voters don’t want to win in 2016.
This is an interesting result. I personally don’t want a person who lied and was caught and was fired during the Watergate Scandal yet refuses to do deep investigation for Benghazi, among other things. The link can be seen here.
It seems that Biden sees Ted Cruz and Rand Paul as a threat to the current establishment. I for one approve of Cruz and Paul. Makes me laugh when Biden says such obnoxious statements. The link can be seen here.
According to isidewith.com, I am 67% Republican. The most issues I side with the GOP are on economic, social, immigration, and science issues. I was raised by parents who identified and are registered Republican so it is not a surprise as most children are the same political party as their parents. This number is both a surprise and not a surprise. My political views have been changing for some time (not the surprise) as several years ago I was, if I remember right, 85% Republican. The drop from 85% to 67% was the surprise because I never knew, according to isidewith.com, the drop was that much.
Second on the list was Libertarian at 56%. The most issues I side with the Libertarian Party (LP) are on economic and healthcare issues. Again, it was both a surprise and not a surprise. I discovered the Libertarian movement during the whole gun control hype. Curious, I did some more research about the LP and it appealed to me. Over time I read more and I agreed and it has only been about a month and a half that I would consider myself as a libertarian Republican. That is not the surprising part. The fact that the percentage was 56% shocked me. As I am typing this the question comes to mind: Am I going through a Libertarian phase? Who knows, maybe I am and when I take this test/survey again, it will be lower. Or I am not going through a LP phase and will actually increase. Only time will tell.
With 41% and third on the list was Democrat. The most issues I side with the Democratic Party (Dem) are on science issues. Again, all the results are both a surprise and not. I never knew that Dem views were creeping that much in my political thinking. It may be because of being in college as college will liberalize students. It just matters on the degree of how much or little it will do and if those views will change back to more conservative views once out of college. The exposure (both bad and good) will no longer be (in my opinion) shoved in your face. The last time I took this test I got, from my memory, around a 20% for Dem.
Fourth place was the Green Party at 7% and fifth place was the Socialist Party at 2%, both siding on no major issues. I personally take being a 2% socialist, or even a socialist at all, as an insult.
The full results can be views here. You can disagree or agree with me and comment below. As of now I only have one viewer so I don’t expect that much activity for now. Once I inform people of my blog, hopefully more comments will be posted. I plan on taking this test down the road and it will be fun to compare my result.
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.
While searching the world for the most libertarian countries, you’re going to want to look for a number of different factors. There is no great way to rank countries based on their amount of freedom and there is no massive front runner. One of the most striking things about this list is how low America is compared to a number of other countries that you may not have considered. To figure out what the most libertarian country is, you have to make some sacrifices in certain areas of freedom. (I’ll be going over this more in the last part of this 3 part series on libertarian locales.) Most areas are strong in certain freedoms but weak in other areas. That makes this a very subjective consideration.
Ultimately, this list is based on the size of government, the taxation of that government, the freedoms it provides economically, and the freedoms they provide socially.
5. New Zealand
Beautiful New Zealand is a place that anyone would love to go. It’s picturesque oceanic views are often one of the most dreamed about landscapes in the world. It’s also the kind of place that is comfortable to live.
New Zealand is one of the most socially free countries in the world. It provides more freedom for it’s citizens than America. Economically speaking it’s just as free. While hit hard by the global economic crisis, it looks as though the economy is right on track to keep growing fast. Government taxation is definitely one of the major problems in this country.
4. United States
Known for its history of freedom loving, the discussion around this country has been quite surprising. This may be the most controversial country in the top 5. While one of the freest countries in the world only a hundred or so years ago it’s dropped its ranks fast. Many freedom indexes don’t even include it in their top 5. It always tends to rank near the top of the most libertarian country list but it rarely gets as high as it does here.
The United States has one saving grace in our equation and that’s the sheer amount of space that the government has little actual control on. While the freedoms in many of the most populated cities around the country belong near the middle of the list of freest countries, there is a lot of area in the United States that’s rural and under little to know actual government control. That is to say, government may legally control, but it’s inability to do that provides freedoms that aren’t found in many places around the world.
3. Switzerland
You may recognize Switzerland from it’s rather consistent hands off policy for wars. It’s actually held a record of over 200 years without a war. That’s a rather impressive feat. That alone should give some credence to the amount of freedom it provides. Children not being sent to war very often is certainly a major benefit.
Switzerland receives most of it’s freedoms from a mass of decentralization. It’s social policy is as free as they come. It’s economic freedoms are top notch. Its government is a tad bit controlling but being an American, I can’t judge.
2. Canada
America’s neighbor to the north takes a small lead in the most libertarian countries in the world. This may come as a bit of a surprise to the American citizens because there is so little actually known about Canada’s freedom. After you start looking into the research you’ll be surprised.
While it has a medical system that might cause a few problems, the rest of its freedoms aren’t that bad. It really would be a wash with the United States if it wasn’t for government powers. The government of Canada is smaller than the United States and it takes less.
Naturally, it’s also benefiting severely from the mass of land syndrome. While rules may exist for every inch of it, most of the rules don’t actually get enforced on every inch. This points directly at what the next article in the series is going to talk about. I mention that solely to raise your interest 
And the top country on our list…
1. Ireland
Share a drink with me and toast the freest country in the world. This is a country that is as socially free as any country in the world. It’s government taxation is virtually nothing compared to many countries on this list. It has economic freedoms that could keep just about everyone satisfied. While not Hong Kong economically free, it’s a balance of social freedoms and economic freedoms that just about anyone would love to live.
Where does this list have it wrong?
Do you know any freer countries?
Most of this list is highly subjective. What’s the most important freedom for you? That’s really what it comes down to. If you’re socially conservative then perhaps Hong Kong may be your most libertarian country in the world. That’s the place that I’ll put on the top of the economic freedom list. For social freedoms, that’s a lot more difficult to find the most libertarian countries. Every country on this list provides social freedoms that are as up to date as we understand. Who do you think is most socially free?
In the last article I’m going to be going over what is the most important quality of finding a place to live free. It’s not all about finding the right place to lay your head to avoid the tax man. It’s also about something that’s much more important.
*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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