Measuring Overall Freedom in the States

There are lots of indices of various kinds of freedom out there, but this new “Index of Freedom in the States,” which is put out by the libertarian Mercatus Center at George Mason University, is the first that combines economic freedom measures with personal freedom.
Not surprisingly, New Mexico fares rather poorly on fiscal policy (45th), regulatory policy (37th), and economic freedom (43rd). The good news is that New Mexico’s personal freedom ranks very high at 3rd best in the country. Overall, New Mexico scores 36th. Not surprisingly, New Hampshire which lacks both a sales and income tax ranks as the freest state in the nation and New York is a dismal 50th. Certainly, New Mexico has a lot of work to do in the realm of economic policies before residents of The Land of Enchantment are as wealthy as they are personally free.