The CATO Institute released its annual Freedom Rankings of the 50 states. Based on how each state’s policies impact economic, social and personal freedom, New Hampshire came in #1 as the most free state, followed by Florida. At the opposite end, the good news for California is that it did not rank as the least free state. It was at #48, just ahead of Hawaii (#49) and the least free state in America, New York at #50.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/rotten-apple-new-york-dubbed-least-free-state-country-new-study

Obviously, this doesn’t mean you can't get free stuff in New York, because illegal immigrants are getting tons of it. It does mean that New Yorkers are burdened by high public debt, high state and local taxes, voracious government consumption of resources and oppressive land use and labor policies. Wealthy residents of New York City pay among the highest combined state and local taxes in the country, and I’ve long said that if they ever realize they can do the same job over the Internet from a beachfront mansion in safe, sunny, income tax-free Florida, New York City will be done for. I suspect that day is drawing very close.

Incidentally, I don’t think I have to point out the prevailing political views in the least free and most free states, and how those have created the current situation, with residents of the former fleeing to the latter in droves. But just to show you that Democrat policies can always make a bad situation terrible, the rampant crime in New York City created by woke DAs and defunded police is about to get even worse, thanks to the Biden open borders policy.

New York Mayor Eric Adams announced that because of the high cost of dealing with all the illegal immigrants, the already strained-to-the-limit budgets for police, sanitation and other public necessities will be cut by 5%. They’ll also be slashing the budgets for education and museums and cultural institutions, and freezing hiring in such departments as education, health, aging and parks.

https://nypost.com/2023/11/19/metro/cardi-b-slams-eric-adams-over-nyc-budget-cuts-crimes-are-gonna-go-through-the-roof/

It’s gotten so bad that even rapper Cardi B went on a foul-mouthed social media tirade, complaining that the dirty city is going to get even dirtier, “crimes are gonna go through the roof” and “we’re gonna be drowning in rats!”

Yep. And just remember: you voted for it. And if I were a betting man, I’d bet the farm that next November, a lot of New Yorkers who are complaining about the crime, illegal immigration, budget cuts and more will vote for more of it. That includes some who aren’t even dead yet.