The CATO Institute has ranked South Dakota in the top-five states in its “Freedom in the 50 States” index. The index ranks South Dakota as the most-improved state in the nation when comparing 2018 to 2019, Governor Kristi Noem’s first year in office. The most recent edition, published in 2018, ranked South Dakota eighth.
Noem says, “South Dakota has freedom in abundance. In the few short years since I took office as governor, we’ve already propelled South Dakota from a top-10 freest state status to a top-five status. I believe that we respect freedom more than any state in America, but this ranking indicates that we have more work to do. I look forward to working with the legislature to advance policies that protect freedom, cut red tape, and promote continual growth for our state.”
The rankings are based on state laws as of January 1, 2020, and state budgets through FY 2020. Of note, this ranking did not take COVID-19 response into account. In the early months of the pandemic, Noem was the only governor in America to never order a single business or church to close.
You can read the full report here.
Image credit CATO Institute website.
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