Against the profit motive : the salary revolution in American government, 1780-1940 / Nicholas R. Parrillo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Parrillo, Nicholas R.

Series:

Yale Law Library Series in Legal History and Reference

Yale Law Library series in legal history and reference

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fees, Administrative--United States--History.

Fees, Administrative.

United States--Officials and employees--Salaries, etc--History.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (581 p.)

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In America today, a public official's lawful income consists of a salary. But until a century ago, the law frequently authorized officials to make money on a profit-seeking basis. Prosecutors won a fee for each defendatn convicted. Tax collectors received a cut of each evasion incovered. Naval officers took a reward for each ship sunk. The list goes on. This book documents the American government's 'for profit' past, to discover how profit-seeking defined officials' relationshp to the citizenry and to explain how lawmakers - by banishing the profit motive in favour of the salary - transformed that relationship forever.

Contents:

The old regime : lawful bargaining for public services

Bargaining outlawed

A regulatory nightmare : salaries as a remedy for corrupt exchange and official lucre

A government capable of saying "no" : salaries as a reaction against customer service

State and local taxation : the tax ferrets

Federal taxation : the moiety men

Criminal prosecution : cash for convictions

Incarceration : jailors' fees and penitentiary profits

Naval warfare : prize money and blood money

Epilogue : American state-building and the critique of bureaucracy.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780300187304

0300187300

OCLC:

861322654