Book(electronic)#12013
Against the profit motive: the salary revolution in American government, 1780-1940
In: Yale Law Library series in legal history and reference
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.
