A "fair economy" is an economy in which the same rules apply to everyone and the results of legitimate effort and competition are respected. Transactions should be determined by value, not by the size of one's power; opportunity should not be tilted toward any one side; and responsibility for breaking the rules should fall equally on everyone. Fairness is not a shackle that binds the freedom of the market, but the foundation that allows a free market to function properly.

Yet an uneven playing field still remains in many corners of our society. Time and again, those with greater power bend the rules in their own favor, information and opportunity are concentrated in the hands of a few, and those who have competed in good faith fail to receive their rightful share. Such unfairness does not end with one person's grievance. It erodes trust in the market and saps the vitality of the community as a whole.

The Fair Economy is a non-profit publication operated by the Public Project Support Association, a social cooperative. Guided by the public interest rather than by profit, we examine and record the practices that stand in the way of fair competition and the gaps in our institutions.

The Fair Economy will serve as a watchdog of the free market economy so that harmony, balance, and checks function soundly in our society. We ask for your interest and support.