I’m a concerned American, a father, a grandfather, a Southerner by birth and heritage, who’s worried about our country’s future, what it will be like, what kind of opportunities will be there for my family, my friends, all those I care about, now and in the future. I am a practical person and have little patience for labels and ideologies, those mental straightjackets which prevent us from finding solutions to our most pressing problems. Above all, I’m for what works. Here is my ideal country, the country I wish for my family and friends, for us all.
An ideal country is one whose citizens feel safe and possess an abundance of personal and economic freedom, with institutions that protect basic human rights and the right of individuals to pursue their own economic interests.
It is business friendly, economically competitive with respect to other countries, and able to provide high levels of prosperity for its citizens.
It is family friendly, offering its citizens a guaranteed pension, paid annual leave, paid sick leave, paid maternity leave, universal health care, good schools, affordable college education and vocational training, and, where necessary, housing and food subsidies.
In the ideal country, the people themselves are country’s most treasured resource, and the well-being of the people, its top priority.
There is little tolerance for poverty.
Pie in the sky? Actually, quite a few countries around the world meet these requirements.
For instance, New Zealand ranks high on the conservative World Economic Forum’s Index of Economic Competitiveness, on the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, on the conservative State of World Liberty Index, on the libertarian Cato Institute’s Human Freedom Index, and on Forbes Magazine’s list of best countries for business.
New Zealand’s citizens also have a guarenteed pension, 31 days paid annual leave, up to 20 days of paid sick leave, 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, universal health care, and affordable college education.
Switzerland, Denmark, the U.K., Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and our neighbor Canada also rank high on the above indices of personal and economic freedom while providing social benefits similar to New Zealand’s.
It can be done. America can join the rest of the developed world. Data from some of the most conservative, free market-promoting sources—the Heritage Foundation, the World Economic Forum, the Cato Institute and the editors of Forbes Magazine—show that a guaranteed pension, paid annual leave, paid sick leave, paid maternity leave, universal health care and affordable college education are not only compatible with, but are indicators of, economic prosperity and personal freedom.
We can do better. We have to. If that is not possible, maybe it’s time to move.