How did a fringe rightwing movement calling for lower taxes become one of the most successful efforts in U.S politics, leading to a chronically underfunded government? The answer has more than a little to do with racism. Michael Graetz traces the rise and triumph of the anti-tax movement and the ways that politicians and think-tanks harnessed racial resentments for the benefit of the wealthy.

Michael J. Graetz, The Power to Destroy: How the Antitax Movement Hijacked America Princeton University Press, 2024

Photo credit: Mike Meadows, Los Angeles Times

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