Doing Freedom

0.85 people, on average, earning $47,000 per year, dot each square mile of the United States... 850 Rwandans, earning $1,200 per year, squeeze into each square mile of their Sub-Saharan home... What would you think if I told you there was a country where the average number of citizens per square mile are piled 18,000+ high? Talk about population density! And you thought the Rwandans had it bad...

To make matters worse, this massively overpopulated country is essentially void of natural resources...

So how on earth can people survive under such conditions? Quite well you might say...

Here's what Singapore has going for it...

*A per capita income of $62,000
*A 2.2% unemployment rate...
*14% real GDP growth...
*5.8% wage growth...
*2.8% inflation...
*More millionaires (in U.S. $ terms) as a % of households (15.5%) than any other country on the planet...

So how can that be?

Two words; FREE TRADE!!

Singapore has:

*Multiple free trade agreements...
*One of the five busiest ports in the world...
*The most open economy in the world (World Bank ranking)...
*The most business friendly country in the world (World Bank ranking)...
*Ranked #2, behind Hong Kong (with 16,000+ people/square mile) on the Economic Freedom Index...

What about us?

While Singapore is doing freedom as we speak, and benefitting mightily for the effort, the U.S. has slid from number three to number nine on the Economic Freedom Index... And therein lies the problem my friends! This move away from economic freedom is precisely why our economy is barely moving at the moment...

Simply put; a growing government = a slowing economy...



*Data taken from reports citing the following sources: Singapore Dept of Statistics, U.S. Dept of State, U.S. Library of Congress, CIA World Factbook and the Monetary Authority of Singapore...