The Literary Village -The Price of Democracy:
About
Local author Vanessa Williamson will discuss her book The Price of Democracy: The Revolutionary Power of Taxation in American History in conversation with Erica Williams, the Executive Director of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute. In The Price of Democracy , Williamson challenges the myth that Americans are instinctively anti-tax, revealing that fights over taxes have always been proxies for deeper conflicts over who is included in “We the People.” Poorer people have repeatedly built movements that sought to tax all Americans to create a more equal and democratic nation. Wealthy people have responded by constraining the power to tax and stifling democracy through voting restrictions, gerrymandering, and violence. Yet as hard as anti-tax crusaders have fought to create an America that redistributes not from rich to poor, but from non-white people to rich white people, the battle rages on. The Price of Democracy uncovers how fights for fiscal fairness have defined American history, delivering a powerful message to the present: that taxes are the public’s most powerful weapon in the fight for a real democracy. The talk will be followed by Q+A and book-signing. Free copies while supplies last, with additional copies available for sale and sign by the author. This program is a part of the Literary Village book talk series - a partnership between Mount Pleasant Village and the Friends of Mt. Pleasant Library. About the Author : Vanessa Williamson is a senior fellow
