The Free Market Cure

You may have seen this graphic floating around Facebook.

Apparently, that quote comes from a speech he gave at Georgetown University. 

“Aid is just a stopgap,” he said. “Commerce [and] entrepreneurial capitalism take more people out of poverty than aid. We need Africa to become an economic powerhouse.”

Bono is right, of course.  But it's always nice to have data to support your beliefs.  So, here it is.

The US and UK, with economic policies that respected property rights and economic liberty far more than China's, grew steadily in GDP/capita, which is a pretty good indicator of increasing wealth.  When China loosened economic regulations, their GDP/capita skyrocketed.

So, economic liberty leads to economic prosperity.  Great!  Which way are we headed now?  According to the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom, we're 10th in the world, and dropping.

US Economic Freedom score over time

According to the Heritage Foundation...

Registering a loss of economic freedom for the fifth consecutive year, the U.S. has recorded its lowest Index score since 2000. Dynamic entrepreneurial growth is stifled by ever-more-bloated government and a trend toward cronyism that erodes the rule of law. More than three years after the end of recession in June 2009, the U.S. continues to suffer from policy choices that have led to the slowest recovery in 70 years.

All in the name of helping the poor, of course.  Ironic, isn't it?