Lecture 7: Shifting Goalposts: The Anti-Tax Movement

Video Description

Why was the estate tax, which is paid by only the wealthiest two percent of Americans, repealed in 2001 with broad bipartisan support? Prof. Shapiro unravels this puzzle in this lecture by going over the origins of the anti-tax movement, the logic of referendum politics, and 1994 as a pivot point. He then hones in on the estate tax repeal as a case study, discusses tax cuts and the Republican coalition and how far the goalposts have shifted for today's U.S. tax politics. How did we get from the huge euphoria that followed the fall of communism in the early 1990s to our present politics of fear and resentment, and what are the prospects going forward? This DeVane Lecture series course entitled “Power and Politics in Today’s World” with Professor Ian Shapiro answered some of those questions. This course in the fall of 2019 was open to Yale students and the general public. Ian Shapiro is the Sterling Professor of Political Science and Global Affairs at Yale University. He has written widely and influentially on democracy, justice, and the methods of social inquiry. The DeVane Lecture series was established in 1969 to honor William Clyde DeVane, dean of Yale College from 1939 to 1963. To view all the lectures in this course, please visit this playlist link. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9mgdi4rNeyViG2ar68jkgEi4y6doNZy To view and download the syllabus and lecture material, please visit the link below. You can also find more information about Professor Shapiro’s book ‘After the Fall’ which is based on the course. https://yaleedu.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/PoorvuCenter-TeachingStudios/IgBbRGjjODrKRpzBhEaEYt-bAZOdYiaQH0tIi5mSDQ05LPs?e=b27fBS To view the Office Hours of this course, visit https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9mgdi4rNewXXh3Yej7icrFY35qDmGT5