New York’s big government — with its hands deep in taxpayers’ pockets and regulations controlling everyone’s lives — has made the Empire State the worst in the nation for personal liberty, a new study shows.
A war on sugary drinks is the least of freedom-loving New Yorkers’ worries, according a report by George Mason University, which rated the state No. 50 for the level of freedom its residents enjoy.
The university found New York’s government slams citizens from every angle — from huge taxes to tight controls on business to myriad rules on all kinds of fun.
“New York has, by a wide margin, the highest taxes in the country,” the report found.
The study cited New York state’s 14 percent income tax, well above the national average.
New York is also the most indebted state, with 33 percent of income dedicated to borrowing in fiscal year 2010, the report said.
The study had a catch-all category dubbed “Bachelor Party Freedom.” It weighed the amount of restriction on gambling, drugs, tobacco, liquor, marijuana, prostitution and fireworks.
The study found New York to be a major buzzkill. “Tobacco laws are extremely strict, and cigarette taxes are the highest in the country, encouraging the growth of a dangerous black market,” the study said.
North Dakota was ranked as the most free state, followed by South Dakota, Tennessee, New Hampshire and Oklahoma.
The Empire State ranked poorly for its heavy-handed economic regulations. For example, the report flunked New York’s rent-control laws, claiming it dampened economic development.
Labor rules that include forcing government workers to pay union dues were also cited as a drag on the state.
The study also found that New York has extensive health-insurance rules that inflate costs.
New York’s gun-control laws were deemed “extremely restrictive” — even before Gov. Cuomo and the Legislature passed tougher controls this year.
The limits on freedom are driving people away, the report’s creators said.
“New York is by far the least free state in the nation. It is therefore no surprise that New York residents have been heading for the exits: 9 percent of the state’s 2000 population, on net, left the state for another state between 2000 and 2011 — the highest such figure in the nation,” the study by George Mason’s libertarian-leaning Mercatus Center found.
On the positive side, the study said New York’s court system was better than average and credited Albany with improving auto-insurance policies. And the report praised New York for legalizing gay marriage in 2011.
Responded Cuomo spokesman Matthew Wing: “This report’s definition of ‘freedom’ is based on extremist political views, not reality.”
“Governor Cuomo has established the lowest tax rate for the middle class in 60 years, enacted a property-tax cap, passed three on-time balanced budgets that hold the line on spending . . . So it’s hardly a surprise that extremists on both sides often disagree with us.”