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

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

New Haven : Yale University Press, 2014.

1 online resource : illustrations (black and white).

Yale Law Library series in legal history and reference.
University Press Scholarship Online.

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.

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.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on December 2, 2013).

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English

9780300187304 ebook

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