Against the Profit Motive
Overview
In America today, a public official's lawful income consists of a salary. But until a century ago, the law frequently provided for officials to make money on a profit-seeking basis. Prosecutors won a fee for each defendant convicted. Tax collectors received a percentage of each evasion uncovered. Naval officers took a reward for each ship sunk. Numerous other officers were likewise paid for "performance." This book is the first to document the American government's for-profit past, to discover how profit-seeking defined officialdom's relationship to the citizenry, and to explain how lawmakers--by ultimately banishing the profit motive in favor of the salary--transformed that relationship forever.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9780300194753
- ISBN-10: 0300194757
- Publisher: Yale University Press
- Publish Date: October 2013
- Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.4 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
- Page Count: 584
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