The Greedy Hand

Praise

“The Greedy Hand: How Taxes Drive Americans Crazy and What to Do About It,” Amity Schlaes not only manages to keep you wide awake, she also sets your blood to boiling. . . the point she is making is that the present American tax system is greedy, intrusive, unpredictable and meddling. . . Elsewhere, Ms. Schlaes details other alleged excesses of what Thomas Paine in “The Rights of Man” described as “the greedy hand of government thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry, and grasping the spoil of the multitude.”. . . Still, by criticizing our present tax code so concretely, Ms. Schlaes has provided a thoughtful overview of the system’s many contradictions and inequities. Even if you don’t always agree with her conclusions, she defines the debate over what we ought to do and gets you thinking constructively about the problems she identifies”.

–Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times

“Finally, someone has given us a common-sense guide to America’s worst regulatory mess: the tax system. Vividly told with stories from around America, THE GREEDY HAND builds a compelling case that the largest loser is democracy itself. The tax system is so complex that we no longer have any link between what we pay for and what we get.”
        –Philip K. Howard, author of THE DEATH OF COMMON SENSE

“Amity Shlaes is among the most brilliant of the young writers who are transforming American financial journalism. This important and timely book outlines the problem which dominates the politics of the 21st century–how to reform the income tax fundamentally. And it provides a stunning solution.”
        –Paul Johnson, author of MODERN TIMES

“This is a terrific book on the history of politics and taxing in America. It is a must read–whether you come from the left, right, or mushy middle. Amity Shlaes takes us by the hand and leads us through the looking glass on a remarkable tour of our Mad Hatter tax system. Shlaes transcends taxes and peers into the soul of our twisted political process.”
        –Fred Goldberg, former IRS Commissioner, former Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, and Member of the National Commission on Restructuring the IRS

“THE GREEDY HAND is the economic bible for those who believe in growth.”
        –Steve Forbes

“Amity Shlaes is the Tocqueville of Tax.”
        –Lewis E. Lehrman, co-chairman of the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History

“I never thought I would enjoy a book about taxes. But I thoroughly enjoyed Amity Shlaes’ THE GREEDY HAND, which makes sense of our unduly complicated tax system. In explaining how the tax structure got to be what it is and how it must change, her writing is delightful, and her logic is clear and persuasive.”
        –Diane Ravitch

“Finally, along comes the book that can break the political logjam on taxes. Amity Shlaes delivers a brilliant expose of what’s wrong with our modern tax culture and why citizens are so disillusioned with lawmakers. THE GREEDY HAND is the compass for thinking about overhauling the entire tax system in America.”
        –Jack Kemp