The free enterprise system is the most powerful mechanism for alleviating poverty the world has ever known. Societies with greater economic freedom generate the following positive effects for their citizens:

  • Greater productivity and wealth
  • Longer life expectancies
  • Higher levels of education

The free-market system reduces poverty by increasing economic liberty. When people can pursue their own ends without the government’s interference, they are more productive. When people are more productive, they usually earn higher incomes. When people earn greater income, they typically live longer and create better educational opportunities for their children.

Unfortunately, some policymakers, especially those who frequently politicize demographic differences in income, have rejected free enterprise in favor of government-enforced economic justice.

NCFREE

The North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation (NCFREE) is a non-partisan organization that promotes the free enterprise system in North Carolina. Periodically, NCFREE produces a Legislative Business Ratings (LBR) report that analyzes the degree to which North Carolina legislators favor free market policies. The higher the score, the greater the favorability toward free enterprise policies.

The LBR’s methodology focuses on three variables: legislators’ voting history on 25 bills and amendments relevant to free enterprise, business leaders’ perception of legislators’ support of free enterprise, and the net number of free enterprise bills sponsored by a legislator.

In a recent conversation, the Executive Director of the North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation, Alex Baltzegar, stated, “NCFREE’s Legislative Business Ratings offer business leaders a clear, data-driven look at how friendly, or unfriendly, lawmakers are toward free enterprise issues. We evaluated a wide range of free enterprise issues, from energy and environmental regulations to taxes and real estate development, and scored lawmakers according to their votes on those bills.”

The remainder of this article will provide an overview of the results from the LBR reports from 2012-13 through NCFREE’s most recent release, 2023-24. The analysis will focus on the average rating of legislators, grouped by chamber and party.

Senate Republicans

In the 2023-24 report, Senate Republicans scored 97.6 percent. This is slightly higher than their colleagues in the House and more than three times greater than Democrats from both chambers. Since 2012-13, Senate Republicans have consistently trended toward policies that increase economic freedom.

House Republicans

Republicans in the House have followed a similar path to their colleagues in the Senate. In the 2023-24 report, House Republicans scored 97.3 percent, up from 86.6 percent in 2012-13.

Senate Democrats

From 2012-13 through 2019-20, Democrats in the Senate slowly increased their support of free market policies; however, this trend did not last. In 2020-21, the Senate Democrats started to pivot their policy preference toward government intervention, and by 2023-24, the shift had taken full effect. With an LBR of only 28.4 percent in the 2023-24 report, the Senate Democrats earned the lowest score in the data.

House Democrats

House Democrats followed a similar trajectory as their Senate partners. The trend was primarily characterized by slight movements toward favoring free enterprise starting in 2012-13, followed by a reversal in 2020-21, and then a sharp shift away from the free market in 2023-24.

Why the Shift?

In our conversation, Baltzegar pointed out, “This is the first time in NCFREE’s history that, while several House Democrats received good scores, no Democrats in either chamber outscored Republicans overall. This is notable, as free enterprise policies are closely tied to the economic well-being of our state.”

Radical shifts in politicians’ policy preferences to win an election are common and even at times lauded as pragmatic. However, it is unlikely that the shift in North Carolina Democrats away from free enterprise is based on pragmatism. Instead, the source of this movement toward a government-controlled economy is likely rooted in a philosophical transformation within the party toward socialism. For example, in 2022, Governor Cooper issued an executive order imposing electric vehicle sales quotas in an attempt to forcibly transform North Carolina’s auto industry.

Regardless of party affiliation, it is vital that we reject policymakers’ attempts to distort and control the economy. If we care about improving the quality of life of all North Carolinians, not the mirage of redistributive justice, then the choice is clear: we need greater economic freedom, not less.