RESEARCH
National Economic Impact Study
The first comprehensive analysis of the financial and human cost of government overreach on individuals, families, businesses, employees, taxpayers, and communities.
The Question
What is the true cost of government overreach? When a prosecution is initiated, the consequences extend far beyond the accused. The National Economic Impact Study asks a simple but powerful question: how much does the process cost all of us?
Our Approach
The study is led by a research team that includes data scientists, economists, legal experts, and lived-experience advisors. It combines quantitative financial modeling with qualitative interviews, case studies, and policy analysis.
We do not limit the analysis to a single stakeholder. Instead, we measure the cost across the entire ecosystem affected by a prosecution: the accused, their family, their employer, their community, and the taxpayer.
The study is designed to produce credible, defensible findings that can be shared with policymakers, journalists, researchers, and the public. The goal is not just to count costs, but to change the conversation about justice.
The Four-Bucket Framework
Direct Costs to Accused Individuals
Legal fees, bail, court costs, fines, restitution, and lost wages during the process. These costs often begin immediately and compound long before a case is resolved.
Costs to Families
Spouses, children, and parents absorb emotional, financial, and relational costs. Family savings are depleted, mental health suffers, and relationships strain under the weight of the process.
Costs to Communities
Lost productivity, reduced civic participation, weakened community trust, and the destabilization of households and neighborhoods ripple far beyond the accused individual.
Costs to Employers & Taxpayers
Businesses lose skilled workers; taxpayers fund lengthy investigations, prosecutions, and incarceration; and the justice system becomes more expensive and less effective.
By the Numbers
Average cost of a single federal prosecution when direct and indirect costs are measured
Of federal cases resolved by plea bargain, often without full trial protections
Buckets of economic harm measured in the study
Interviews and data points informing the analysis
Flagship Cases
The study uses anonymized flagship cases to illustrate how costs spread across the four buckets. Each case tells a story of a prosecution's impact on employment, housing, family, reputation, and mental health—years after the case ended.
These cases are not chosen for their notoriety. They are chosen because they are representative of the thousands of ordinary prosecutions that produce extraordinary harm. The study will publish findings, case summaries, and methodology as they become available.
Stay Updated
The National Economic Impact Study is ongoing. Join the research email list to receive white papers, data releases, and event invitations.