You seem to be looking at the the rank order alone, which just means there are a lot of closely bunched countries near the US on the indices.
If you look at the heat maps and the actual indices themselves, along with the countries with comparable numbers, you’ll see that those lists precisely support my claim.
You are simply factually wrong in your description of this data. 3 of the 4 indexes I listed provide defined tiers. The US is in the top tier on only 1 of the 3 lists. On that one list there are 60 counties in the top tier. On the other two lists we are in the 2nd tier defined as "satisfactory situation" and "mostly free". The organizations behind the lists clearly think there is room for improvement. This data does not corroborate your point.
Here is what I said: “The US is not lacking in either press or economic freedom compared to ‘peer’ nations.”
Whether or not there are countries who have better ratings, any honest reading of the list sees that the US ratings are similar to peers.
When you consider how large and diverse the US is compared to most countries on the list, the ranking becomes more impressive.
The first list puts the US above all of Europe except Switzerland, and above all of Scandinavia, and Canada and Australia.
The second list puts the US above Sweden, Germany, and Japan for example.
The third, doesn’t have ranks, but places US in the ‘satisfactory’ category along with most of Europe, Canada, and Australia.
The fourth, is the only one in which the US does a little worse on their points scale, however *it is back in the top tier described as ‘free’ alongside all its peers, and above the UK, France and Japan in the ranking.
It’s just bullshit to claim these lists indicate that the US is lacking compared to peers.
I started writing out a longer response to you, but then realized it isn't worth it. If you aren't going to acknowledge that we maybe have room for improvement when we are internationally ranked in the 30s and 40s in press freedom then I don't see much value in continuing the conversation on how our freedom might be lacking.
> If you aren't going to acknowledge that we maybe have room for improvement
This is a completely dishonest representation of what I have said.
Here it is again:
> The US is not lacking in either press or economic freedom compared to ‘peer’ nations. Whether or not there are countries who have better ratings, any honest reading of the list sees that the US ratings are similar to peers.
Nowhere did I say there wasn’t room for improvement or even claim the US was at the top.
If you’re going to lie about both what I said, and what the links show, what do you think we can accomplish?
If you look at the heat maps and the actual indices themselves, along with the countries with comparable numbers, you’ll see that those lists precisely support my claim.
Thanks for providing this corroborating data.