Capitol Hill Briefing 

# *Freedom in the 50 States*

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Date and Time 

August 24, 2018 12 - 1 PM EDT 

Location 

2045 Rayburn House Office Building 

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##### Featuring 

Featuring **William P. Ruger**, Vice President of Research and Policy, Charles Koch Institute; **Chris Edwards**, Editor, Down​siz​ing​Gov​ern​ment​.org, Cato Institute; and **Jason Sorens**, Lecturer and Program Director of the Political Economy Project, Dartmouth College; moderated by **Matt Weibel**, Director of Government Affairs, Cato Institute. 

Which state is the freest, and what does it mean to be free? Which state has the most heavily taxed and regulated economy? Which state has the best protections for personal freedom? Where does your state rank? Is it among the freest or most coercive? Such questions have occurred to many people who care about limited government.

The 2018 edition of *[Freedom in the 50 States](https://www.freedominthe50states.org)* presents an updated ranking of the American states based on how their policies promote fiscal, regulatory, and personal freedom. The authors have gathered data on more than 230 variables to measure freedom now and in the past. They go beyond describing policies and analyze why some states have smaller and better governments.

*Freedom in the 50 States* is an essential work for anyone interested in state policies and in advancing a better understanding of a free society. Join us to meet the authors, learn about the development of this research, and hear an overview of the 2018 rankings.

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This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).