Wondering why the economy continues to stumble along with out any relief in sight?  Maybe it's because our economic freedom is declining.  Th Heritage Foundation just released their annual Index of Economic Freedom and it's no surprise that the United States has fallen in the rankings during 2009.  The United States had one of the largest declines while countries like Poland and Mexico (Mexico?) had the largest increases.  Why the decline for the US?  Here's part of the executive summary; "The U.S. government’s interventionist responses to the financial and economic crisis that began in 2008 have significantly undermined economic freedom and long-term prospects for economic growth. Economic freedom has declined in seven of the 10 categories measured in the Index.

Uncertainties caused by ongoing regulatory changes and politically influenced stimulus spending have discouraged entrepreneurship and job creation, slowing recovery. Leadership in free trade has been undercut by “Buy American” provisions in stimulus legislation and failure to pursue previously agreed free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea. Tax rates are increasingly uncompetitive, and massive stimulus spending is creating unprecedented deficits. Bailouts of financial and automotive firms have generated concerns about property rights."

So what has Mexico done?  The Index summarizes their tax policy; "The top income and corporate tax rates are 28 percent. A 17 percent flat-rate business tax (known as the IETU) operates as an alternative to the corporate income tax for some companies. Other taxes include a value-added tax (VAT) and a real estate transfer tax. In the most recent year, overall tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 9.0 percent."  Compare that to our top income and corporate tax rates at 35 percent.