Assume that you’re a well-educated European fresh out of college, that you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, that you’re a student of Objectivism, and that you’re prepared to venture to the United States to make your own fortune. You have no close friends or family there, and will choose which state to establish yourself in based on the individual freedom, political situation and future prospects of the state. As you plan on pursuing entrepreneurial projects, you’re mainly concerned with being able to do so with the least possible interference by the government. Avoiding the “Bible belt” would be a secondary priority.
I don’t think there is a decent answer given what we know. Suppose for example you wanted to mine coal. I would not recommend Washington state, since there is not much coal there. Now suppose you want to be a cattle rancher. I would not recommend Rhode Island since it’s not the best for big cattle herds. And please don’t try reindeer herding in any state other than Alaska. It would be best to look at what specifically you want to do, to what extent one place is better than another. You might not care about labor laws (forced unionism is variable at the state level) if you’re not planning on hiring a big bunch of laborers.
I don’t think there is a decent answer given what we know. Suppose for example you wanted to mine coal. I would not recommend Washington state, since there is not much coal there. Now suppose you want to be a cattle rancher. I would not recommend Rhode Island since it’s not the best for big cattle herds. And please don’t try reindeer herding in any state other than Alaska. It would be best to look at what specifically you want to do, to what extent one place is better than another. You might not care about labor laws (forced unionism is variable at the state level) if you’re not planning on hiring a big bunch of laborers.
Assume that the type of businesses you would start would not be dependent on natural resources. The first might, for example, be a software development business, with no more than 10-15 employees.
I assume the various states have web sites with information of the kind you wnat. If not, then surely there must be industry groups or think tanks that keep track of such things. Search the web for an economic freedom index, for instance. Also look up what bureaucratic obstacles there are for new businesses.
I would stay away from California based on what I’ve heard about it, also possibly New York and Massachussets. Otherwise I’ve no specific advice. You could also look up which states are lossing businesses to other states, and to which states. I’ve heard a lot of companies have left California for Washington, Nevada, Utah and Arizona.
As an example, it might be a small software development business. A business which would not be dependent on natural resources, and with no more than 10-15 employees.
I think then that you would be looking for the lowest taxes and the minimum amount of intrusion in mandatory employer-provided social services. You would be required by law to provide medical coverage to employees in California, as I understand it. You might want to avoid California if you want to be free of that legal requirement, although you will probably end up providing such coverage anyway in order to get decent employees. There are probably no differences among states on your freedom to produce and sell software. I would not be surprised if there exists a web page with comparative information on hassles of doing business (taxes, bureaucracy of getting the basic licenses to run a business. This may provide links to info (for example you can get links to tax requirements in all 50 states here).
I’m not sure why, but MANY businesses are incorporated in Delaware. It may be due to lower corporate taxes. When I used to work in the credit card industry (10 years ago), the top three credit card issuers were all headquartered in Delaware.