My Tax Dollars : The Morality of Taxpaying in America.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Braunstein, Ruth, 1981- (author).

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Taxation--Moral and ethical aspects--United States.

Taxation.

Taxation--Social aspects--United States.

Taxpayer compliance--United States.

Taxpayer compliance.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2025.

Summary:

"When the mundane reality of paying taxes takes on moral significance. In My Tax Dollars, Ruth Braunstein maps the contested moral landscape in which Americans experience and make sense of the tax system. Braunstein tells the stories of Americans who view taxpaying as more than a mundane chore: antigovernment tax defiers who challenge the legitimacy of the tax system, antiwar activists who resist the use of their taxes to fund war, antiabortion activists against "taxpayer funded abortions," and a diverse group of people who promote taxpaying as a moral good. Though taxpaying is often portrayed as dull and technical, exposure to collective rituals, civic education, propaganda, and protest transforms the practice for many Americans into either a sacred rite of citizenship or a profane threat to what they hold dear. These sacred and profane meanings can apply to the act of taxpaying itself or to the specific uses of tax dollars. Despite intense disagreement about these meanings, politically diverse Americans engaged in both taxpaying and tax resistance valorize the individual taxpayer and "my tax dollars."Braunstein explores the profound implications of this meaning making for tax consent, the legitimacy of the tax system, and citizens' broader understandings of their political relationships. Going beyond the usual focus on tax policy, Braunstein's innovative view of taxation through the lens of cultural sociology shows how citizens in value-diverse societies coalesce around shared visions of the sacred and fears of the profane"-- Publisher's description.

Contents:

Introduction

Part 1: the act of taxpaying: sacred and profane

Lifeblood of government

Starving the beast

Part 2: the use of tax dollars: sacred and profane

What we pay for a civilized society

If you work for peace, stop paying for war

No taxpayer funding for abortion

Part 3: convergences: money and the sacred individual

The almighty dollar

The sacred taxpayer

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780691255002

0691255008

0691254990

9780691254999

0691254982

9780691254982

OCLC:

1500762670