Showdown at Gucci Gulch: Lawmakers, Lobbyists, and the Unlikely Triumph of Tax Reform

by Alan Murray and Jeffrey Birnbaum

Book Overview

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was the single most sweeping change in the history of America's income tax. It was also the best political and economic story of its time. Here, in the anecdotal style of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394758110
• ISBN13: 9780394758114
• Release Date: April 1988
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The convinience of good service

I was very pleased with the uncomplicated and convenience of no hassle service. I was very pleased.

awesome

the best book I was ever required to read for a class

Still the best case study of congressional decision making

Tax laws may have changed, some of the main actors are serving jail time, but it doesn't matter. This is the best case study of congressional decision making available. I still use this in courses because there is no better example of the tension between political horse trading and genuine reformist impulses available.Is it detailed? Of course it is: the back and forth in the Ways and Means committee, for example, illustrates the kind of negotiaions that are the bread and butter of policy making.Is there material that is "in the encyclopedia?" That is silly. There is little there that is basic review. In fact, anyone who found this boring probably does not know the basics of congressional procedures -- that is not the goal of this book -- or has a professor or teacher who does not know how to link a journalistic case study like this with the textbook or scholarly treatment of Congress.A classic.

Too detailed? That's where the devil is...

While this book may not appeal to students in search of the CliffNotes version of the political process, this exhaustive account of the1986 tax reform bill gets a complicated story just about right. Especially when it concerns the tax code, the devil is in the details, and while B & M sometimes go a little overboard in describing the small print of oil depletion allowances and the like, the fact is that Congressmen think that way -- and voters had better know it. All in all, a solid addition to the 'how a bill becomes a law' ouevre. Plus, it makes you like an odd array of people: Ronald Reagan, Bill Bradley, and even Bob Packwood. Where are they now?... END

Enjoyable

Birnbaum and Murray obviously spent a lot of time researching and writing this. The result is not only very insightful into what Washington looks like from the inside, but is also a highly readable exercise in how policy in the US really is made (the authors liken law-making to sausage-making), and how revolutions for high-minded ideals can indeed occur (for all you cynics out there). None of this could ever be found in an encyclopedia because the way Congress works is much more complex than anything an encyclopedia could ever possibly detail. B & M offer not only commentary on the process, but also into the heads of those working on the Hill; something you're not likely to see very often. Finally, if you're ever interested in where your tax dollars go, how the policy got the way it is, and why you're paying what you do, this is an extremely candid review. It's a bit disheartening to know that there are those out there who still 'just don't get it' even after being presented with such a readable presentation of the way our government works, and at this point, I guess they never will.