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Bestseller
BestsellerE-book
Author Matsusaka, John G.

Title For the many or the few : the initiative, public policy, and American democracy / John G. Matsusaka.

Publication Info. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2004.

Item Status

Description 1 online resource (xii, 201 pages) : illustrations, maps.
Physical Medium polychrome
Description text file
Series American politics and political economy
American politics and political economy.
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-194) and index.
Contents An American institution -- A blizzard of data -- Spending and taxes, 1970-2000 -- For the many or the few -- Conservative or liberal -- When legislators get out of step -- Key episodes in the twentieth century -- Majority tyranny and the constitution -- Delegation, information, and competition.
Summary "Direct democracy is alive and well in the United States. Citizens are increasingly using initiatives and referendums to take the law into their own hands, overriding their elected officials to set tax, expenditure, and social policies. John G. Matsusaka's For the Many or the Few provides the first even-handed and historically based treatment of the subject. Drawing upon a century of evidence, Matsusaka argues against the popular belief that initiative measures are influenced by wealthy special interest groups that neglect the majority view. Examining demographic, political, and opinion data, he demonstrates how the initiative process brings about systematic changes in tax and expenditure policies of state and local governments that are generally supported by the citizens. He concludes that, by and large, direct democracy in the form of the initiative process works for the benefit of the many rather than the few. An unprecedented, comprehensive look at the historical, empirical, and theoretical components of how initiatives function within our representative democracy to increase political competition while avoiding the tyranny of the majority, For the Many or the Few is a most timely and definitive work."--Electronic Library.
Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
Subject Referendum -- United States.
Referendum.
United States.
Democracy -- United States.
Democracy.
Fiscal policy -- United States.
Fiscal policy.
United States -- Politics and government.
Politics and government.
Genre/Form Electronic books.
Other Form: Print version: Matsusaka, John G. For the many or the few. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2004 (DLC) 2004001839
ISBN 9780226510873 (electronic book)
0226510875 (electronic book)
9780226510811 (cloth ; alkaline paper)
0226510816 (cloth ; alkaline paper)
0226510816 (cloth ; alkaline paper)