Beware the rathole

International | | Mindy Belz

When the Heritage Foundation, a conservative, Washington-based think tank, released its first Index of Economic Freedom in 1994, it hoisted an arcane set of data onto an acrimonious debate.

Sen. Jesse Helms, re-installed as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1995, promptly equated U.S. foreign aid with sending dollars "down a rathole." Words flew from the State Department to the senator's chambers and back again, but not until last year did some of Mr. Helms's reforms come to pass. The U.S. Agency for International Development was brought under the State Department's wing and its funding sharply curtailed.

During that time the Index has performed an unusual feat in Washington: letting the numbers do the talking. With an abundance of data on economic growth, government expenditures, and gross domestic product, the report has steadily shown that, even in the world of numbers, worldview matters. Its perennial conclusion: "Countries with the most economic freedom are more likely to have higher rates of economic growth and enjoy greater prosperity than those with less economic freedom."

ACCESS THIS ARTICLE IMMEDIATELY AND RECEIVE ONE MONTH OF ONLINE ACCESS AND TWO ISSUES OF WORLD'S PRINT EDITION—ALL FOR JUST $5. SEE THE NEW SUBSCRIBER BOX BELOW.

IF YOU ARE ALREADY A PRINT OR ONLINE-ONLY SUBSCRIBER, PLEASE LOG IN BELOW.

The complete article is ~326 words long

Current Subscriber

Magazine
Subscriber

Online-Only
Subscriber

Click here for other subscription options that also will enable you to access this article.

New Subscriber

Secure form

Receive instant access to this article and one-month access to WORLD's subscriber-only online content — plus, enjoy 2 issues of WORLD's print edition — all for just $5*.

Want a different type of subscription? Click the following links for Online-Only Subscription options or Print Subscription options (which include online subscription access).

Payment Information

Name	State	Card Type

Address	Zip	Card Number

City	Email	Expiration Date
		/
	Phone Number

Offer Terms

Subscribers Advantage Automatic Renewal Program You authorize WORLD Magazine to charge your credit/debit card at the price listed above and in time to renew your subscription to WORLD Magazine, without interruption, before the start of the first 6-month term (for $34.95) and then thereafter at 6-month terms at the regular rate then in effect unless you tell us to stop. You may cancel at any time during your subscription and receive a full refund on all unmailed issues. If your credit/debit card cannot be charged, we will bill you directly instead.

*Offer good in the U.S. only for new subscribers.
I agree to the terms above

Outside the US, click here.
Renewing subscribers, click here.
Gift subscriptions, click here.

NEED HELP? Call 800-951-6397, Monday-Friday (except holidays), 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET, or send email to customerservice@worldmag.com.

Palau: Renaissance Man Jan. 24, 1998	Roe vs. Wade 25 Jan. 17, 1998	Day scare Jan. 10, 1998
Year in Review 1997 Dec. 27, 1997	Pensacola Dec. 20, 1997	School shooting Dec. 13, 1997