While the free enterprise system is the greatest engine for economic growth and prosperity ever devised, in a democratic system the people grant government limited and defined power to tax and spend wealth out of the private economy for the sake of the common good. In the market, consumers choose which businesses succeed and which fail by voting with their pocketbooks. A business that fails to satisfy its customers will eventually have no money to spend. In contrast, government collects money to spend through force of law. Our democratic system replaces the price signal as an accountability mechanism in the free enterprise system with the ballot box as an accountability mechanism for government. 

Common Sense Institute’s Free Enterprise Report helps policymakers and the public perform this accountability function. CSI's data-driven analysis of the size and cost of government and the efficiency and sustainability of state spending provide valuable insights into our state's evolving competitiveness.