{"product_id":"9780300187304","title":"Against the Profit Motive: The Salary Revolution in American Government, 1780-1940","description":" \u003cbr\u003e In America today, a public official’s lawful income consists of a salary. But until a century ago, the law frequently provided for officials to make money on a profit-seeking basis. Prosecutors won a fee for each defendant convicted. Tax collectors received a percentage of each evasion uncovered. Naval officers took a reward for each ship sunk. Numerous other officers were likewise paid for “performance.” This book is the first to document the American government’s for-profit past, to discover how profit-seeking defined officialdom’s  relationship to the citizenry, and to explain how lawmakers—by ultimately banishing the profit motive in favor of the salary—transformed that relationship forever.","brand":"Yale University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47116342558960,"sku":"9780300187304","price":51.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780300187304_p0.jpg?v=1763670191","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780300187304","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}