Thursday, March 11 2021 One need only compare the five freest nations (Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland and Ireland) to the five most repressed nations (Zimbabwe, Sudan, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea) to understand the obvious correlation between freedom and prosperity. The United States’ economic freedom score is 74.8, making its economy the 20th freest in the 2021 Index. Its overall score has decreased by 1.8 points, primarily because of a decline in fiscal health. The United States is ranked 3rd among 32 countries in the Americas region, and its overall score is above the regional and world averages. The United States received its lowest score and lowest ranking ever in the Index, although it remains “mostly free.” The major obstacles to greater economic freedom in the United States continue to be excessive government spending, unsustainable levels of debt, and intrusive regulation of the health care and financial sectors.