New Books in Economics Vanessa S. Williamson, "The Price of Democracy: The Revolutionary Power of Taxation in American History" (Basic Books, 2025)
Nov 18, 2025
Vanessa S. Williamson, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of "The Price of Democracy", explores the often-overlooked relationship between taxes and American democracy. She reveals how pivotal events like the Boston Tea Party were driven by opposition to corporate tax breaks rather than high taxes. Williamson discusses how taxation reflects deeper societal conflicts, from Reconstruction's ambitions for equality to the modern anti-tax movement, highlighting the continued fight for fiscal fairness as a weapon for true democracy.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Tea Party Was About Corporate Favoritism
- The Boston Tea Party protested a corporate tax break, not high taxes on colonists.
- Colonists opposed favoritism and monopolies that threatened liberty, not taxation per se.
Representation Made Taxation Effective
- Taxation historically requires representation and consent, tracing back to Magna Carta.
- Formal consent mechanisms made states fiscally stronger and more capable of war and infrastructure.
War IOUs Fueled Early Wealth Concentration
- Revolutionary-era war debt consolidated into few hands as soldiers sold IOUs cheaply.
- Speculators bought paper for pennies, later profiting when governments repaid those debts.
