A surprising and revealing look at what Americans really believe about taxes Conventional wisdom holds that Americans hate taxes. But the conventional wisdom is wrong. Bringing together national survey data with in-depth interviews, Read My Lips presents a surprising picture of tax attitudes in the United States. Vanessa Williamson demonstrates that Americans view taxpaying as a civic responsibility and a moral obligation. But they worry that others are shirking their duties, in part because the experience of taxpaying misleads Americans about who pays taxes and how much. Perceived "loopholes" convince many income tax filers that a flat tax might actually raise taxes on the rich, and the relative invisibility of the sales and payroll taxes encourages many to underestimate the sizable tax contributions made by poor and working people. Americans see being a taxpayer as a role worthy of pride and respect, a sign that one is a contributing member of the community and the nation. For this reason, the belief that many Americans are not paying their share is deeply corrosive to the social fabric. The widespread misperception that immigrants, the poor, and working-class families pay little or no taxes substantially reduces public support for progressive spending programs and undercuts the political standing of low-income people. At the same time, the belief that the wealthy pay less than their share diminishes confidence that the political process represents most people. Upending the idea of Americans as knee-jerk opponents of taxes, Read My Lips examines American taxpaying as an act of political faith. Ironically, the depth of the American civic commitment to taxpaying makes the failures of the tax system, perceived and real, especially potent frustrations.
This revised edition features a new afterword, updated through the 2016 election. On February 19, 2009, CNBC commentator Rick Santelli delivered a dramatic rant against Obama administration programs to shore up the plunging housing market. Invoking the Founding Fathers and ridiculing "losers" who could not pay their mortgages, Santelli called for "Tea Party" protests. Over the next two years, conservative activists took to the streets and airways, built hundreds of local Tea Party groups, and weighed in with votes and money to help right-wing Republicans win electoral victories in 2010. In this penetrating new study, Harvard University's Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson go beyond images of protesters in Colonial costumes to provide a nuanced portrait of the Tea Party. What they find is sometimes surprising. Drawing on grassroots interviews and visits to local meetings in several regions, they find that older, middle-class Tea Partiers mostly approve of Social Security, Medicare, and generous benefits for military veterans. Their opposition to "big government" entails reluctance to pay taxes to help people viewed as undeserving "freeloaders" - including immigrants, lower income earners, and the young. At the national level, Tea Party elites and funders leverage grassroots energy to further longstanding goals such as tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulation of business, and privatization of the very same Social Security and Medicare programs on which many grassroots Tea Partiers depend. Elites and grassroots are nevertheless united in hatred of Barack Obama and determination to push the Republican Party sharply to the right. The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism combines fine-grained portraits of local Tea Party members and chapters with an overarching analysis of the movement's rise, impact, and likely fate.
Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject Politics - Region: USA, grade: 1,7, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, language: English, abstract: As soon as it became clear that the Tea Party Movement is not just a spontaneous and soon-to-end quick uprising of unsatisfied people, scientists all around the world started to take a closer look at the phenomenon. The media attention got higher and the amount of articles written about the tea party movement rose quickly. There are many different essays, articles and books about the tea party movement, its uprising and its core beliefs and aims. Important for my essay were the books and articles of Theda Skcocpol and Vanessa Williamson, who give a broad impression about the tea party and explain very short and easy how the movement evolved and what the movement is all about. Also very well written is the book of Charles Bullock, which I also used for my essay. Scott Rasmussen explained the whole movement very precisely and in detail in his book “Mad as hell” and was therefore also an important source for my essay. Most of the existing essays, articles and books concentrate on the tea party movement itself and how it might affect the government and the government of Barack Obama in particular. It is often asked how the protests might affect the elections and the voter outcome and what this movement means for Medicare and other important political issues and how the Democrats should deal with this uprising. In the last few months many articles also examined the Koch brothers and their involvement in the funding of the tea party. The aim of my work is to look closer on another aspect of the tea party movement. This essay is going to look on the connection between the tea party movement and the Republican Party and in what terms one affects the other.
A powerful new theory of human nature suggests that our secret to success as a species is our unique friendliness “Brilliant, eye-opening, and absolutely inspiring—and a riveting read. Hare and Woods have written the perfect book for our time.”—Cass R. Sunstein, author of How Change Happens and co-author of Nudge For most of the approximately 300,000 years that Homo sapiens have existed, we have shared the planet with at least four other types of humans. All of these were smart, strong, and inventive. But around 50,000 years ago, Homo sapiens made a cognitive leap that gave us an edge over other species. What happened? Since Charles Darwin wrote about “evolutionary fitness,” the idea of fitness has been confused with physical strength, tactical brilliance, and aggression. In fact, what made us evolutionarily fit was a remarkable kind of friendliness, a virtuosic ability to coordinate and communicate with others that allowed us to achieve all the cultural and technical marvels in human history. Advancing what they call the “self-domestication theory,” Brian Hare, professor in the department of evolutionary anthropology and the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University and his wife, Vanessa Woods, a research scientist and award-winning journalist, shed light on the mysterious leap in human cognition that allowed Homo sapiens to thrive. But this gift for friendliness came at a cost. Just as a mother bear is most dangerous around her cubs, we are at our most dangerous when someone we love is threatened by an “outsider.” The threatening outsider is demoted to sub-human, fair game for our worst instincts. Hare’s groundbreaking research, developed in close coordination with Richard Wrangham and Michael Tomasello, giants in the field of cognitive evolution, reveals that the same traits that make us the most tolerant species on the planet also make us the cruelest. Survival of the Friendliest offers us a new way to look at our cultural as well as cognitive evolution and sends a clear message: In order to survive and even to flourish, we need to expand our definition of who belongs.
This book discusses the growing use and importance of frugal innovation in society. Frugal innovation looks at innovating in a cost-efficient manner by taking into account available resources. This book explains how frugal innovation is different to other types of innovation and how frugal innovation offers a creative solution to issues of sustainability and the circular economy. The book approaches innovation by taking into account the stakeholders and how companies can innovate efficiently in an inclusive manner. It presents successful cases of companies that have innovated frugally, making the book an engaging read for anyone who is interested to learn more.
The innovation capacity-building can contribute to improve the integration of developing countries in the world economy. The economic development has been a much discussed subject of the period after the Second World War until the 1990s. After the implementation of a global regulation system for trade and capital flows in the 1990s, the development economics has almost disappeared in favor of different theories on globalization, on finance and on international trade. The purpose of this book is to show that the innovation capacity building in developing countries is necessary to improve their weight in the world economy and to facilitate their economic ties with northern countries. However, there are important difficulties due to the lack of proactive economic policies. Our aim is to contribute to the revival of the development economics. The issue of improving the well-being of the world population as a whole is highly topical. However, studies neglect the need to give economic, financial, technological and political resources to developing countries to promote their own development. One of the most important means is to strengthen their innovation capabilities that allow them to better integrate into the world economy.
In this thrilling introduction to her Renegade Royals series, Vanessa Kelly transports readers to the court of King George III—where a London street urchin unwittingly plays Cupid, ushering in a new era—and ultimately a new kind of royal. . . With her widowed mother working long hours as governess to the royal children, Linnet St. Clare must look after her siblings and run the household. Now she must add to her worries the fate of Dominic, a poor orphan who has inspired the wrath of the king himself. Clearly Linnet has no time to consider her own desires—much less notice the attentions of a certain handsome, powerful magistrate. . .. Sir Anthony Tait is at a loss for how to capture Linnet's interest. If only she would be still long enough for courting. Outright seduction seems the only answer. But will his kisses be enough to persuade her—or might Anthony have something to learn from young Dominic about matters of the heart? And in saving the boy's future, might Anthony and Linnet at last create their own?. . . 30,922 Words
Planning and Transformation provides a comprehensive view of planning under political transition in South Africa, offering an accessible resource for both students and researchers in an international and a local audience. In the years after the 1994 transition to democracy in South Africa, planners believed they would be able to successfully promote a vision of integrated, equitable and sustainable cities, and counter the spatial distortions created by apartheid. This book covers the experience of the planning community, the extent to which their aims were achieved, and the hindering factors. Although some of the factors affecting planning have been context-specific, the nature of South Africa’s transition and its relationship to global dynamics have meant that many of the issues confronting planners in other parts of the world are echoed here. Issues of governance, integration, market competitiveness, sustainability, democracy and values are significant, and the particular nature of the South African experience lends new insights to thinking on these questions, exploring the possibilities of achievement in the planning field.
No-Nonsense Guide to World Population (1/2 page) With world population passing seven billion and predicted to hit nine billion by 2050, we are in the grip of a number panic. This book explodes some of the common myths, looks at what the numbers really mean, and addresses nine topics, such as why women in most parts of the world have fewer children, what will happen to our societies as we all live longer, and how having babies relates to climate change. Vanessa Baird is co-editor at New Internationalist magazine. Her previous books include The No-Nonsense Guide to Sexual Diversity and, as compiler and editor, Eye to Eye Women.
Electric Edwardians presents a stunning visual record of the films of Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon, combined with an illuminating discussion of the films and the social context of their production by Vanessa Toulmin, a leading authority on the collection. Advertised as 'local films for local people', the films of Mitchell and Kenyon were commissioned by travelling exhibitors in the early twentieth century for screening in town halls, village fetes and local fairs. Audiences paid to see their neighbours, families and themselves on the screen, glimpsed at work and at play. This attractive volume includes over 200 illustrations drawn from the Mitchell and Kenyon collection, as well as contemporary posters and handbills from the National Fairground Archive. Vanessa Toulmin's lucid accompanying text provides an introduction to the work of the M&K company, the showmen who commissioned their films, and their place in early British cinema. Focusing on major themes, such as Leisure and Recreation, Sport, Industry, the Boer War and the City, Toulmin explores how the M&K collection deepens our understanding of these key aspects of Edwardian life.
African American schools in the segregated South faced enormous obstacles in educating their students. But some of these schools succeeded in providing nurturing educational environments in spite of the injustices of segregation. Vanessa Siddle Walker tells the story of one such school in rural North Carolina, the Caswell County Training School, which operated from 1934 to 1969. She focuses especially on the importance of dedicated teachers and the principal, who believed their jobs extended well beyond the classroom, and on the community's parents, who worked hard to support the school. According to Walker, the relationship between school and community was mutually dependent. Parents sacrificed financially to meet the school's needs, and teachers and administrators put in extra time for professional development, specialized student assistance, and home visits. The result was a school that placed the needs of African American students at the center of its mission, which was in turn shared by the community. Walker concludes that the experience of CCTS captures a segment of the history of African Americans in segregated schools that has been overlooked and that provides important context for the ongoing debate about how best to educate African American children. African American History/Education/North Carolina
The Enlightenment saw a critical engagement with the ancient idea that music carries certain powers - it heals and pacifies, civilizes and educates. Yet this interest in musical utility seems to conflict with larger notions of aesthetic autonomy that emerged at the same time. In Enlightenment Orpheus, Vanessa Agnew examines this apparent conflict, and provocatively questions the notion of an aesthetic-philosophical break between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.Agnew persuasively connects the English traveler and music scholar Charles Burney with the ancient myth of Orpheus. She uses Burney as a guide through wide-ranging discussions of eighteenth-century musical travel, views on music's curative powers, interest in non-European music, and concerns about cultural identity. Arguing that what people said about music was central to some of the great Enlightenment debates surrounding such issues as human agency, cultural difference, and national identity, Agnew adds a new dimension to postcolonial studies, which has typically emphasized the literary and visual at the expense of the aural. She also demonstrates that these discussions must be viewed in context at the era's broad and well-entrenched transnational network, and emphasizes the importance of travel literature in generating knowledge at the time.A new and radically interdisciplinary approach to the question of the power of music - its aesthetic and historical interpretations and political uses - Enlightenment Orpheus will appeal to students and scholars in historical musicology, ethnomusicology, German studies, eighteenth-century history, and comparative studies.
Clinical Dosage Calculations is a locally written, full-colour text covering the important aspects of dosage calculations that students require to perform this essential part of clinical practice. An applied skills-focused text, Brotto uses real-life cases, worked examples and real medication charts and labels to engage students. Using a scaffolded approach to learning, the text starts with fundamental maths and familiarises students with medication charts and labels, then moves on to specialist area chapters, allowing learners to deepen their skills in a clinical context. Students engage in the activities of each chapter as an introduction to the concept before moving onto the final chapter where they can test their overall knowledge.
Through the stories of twenty-six inspiring figures - from ‘Capability’ Brown, Humphry Repton and Vita Sackville-West to lesser known figures, and present-day gardeners such as Beth Chatto and John Brookes - this book brings the colourful history of British gardening to life.
Twisted forces the reader to ask big questions about friendships and family. It explores how friendships can change over time and how a broken family can affect children down the road. A woman searches for her father, and close friends betray each other in the name of lust and revenge. Yet there is an opportunity to grow by watching two characters’ actions affect them negatively and by listening to the words of Wise Grandpa Bradley as he watches them sorrowfully learn life lessons the hard way. Twisted promises rawness, with occasional sciences of violence, but offers hope in the end.
The New York Times bestselling authors of The Genius of Dogs take us into their “Puppy Kindergarten” at Duke University, a center to study how puppies develop, to show us what goes in to raising a great dog. “A firehose of knowledge suffused with levity and charm.”—Alexandra Horowitz, author of Inside of a Dog What does it take to raise a great dog? This was the question that husband-and-wife team Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods hoped to answer when they enrolled one hundred and one puppies in the Duke Puppy Kindergarten. With the help of a retired service dog named Congo, Brian, Vanessa, and their team set out to understand the secrets of the puppy mind: What factors might predict whether a puppy will grow up to change someone’s life? Never has cuteness been so cutting edge. Applying the same games that psychologists use when exploring the development of young children, Hare and Woods uncover what happens in a puppy’s mind during their final stage of rapid brain development. Follow the adventures of Arthur, who makes friends with toy dinosaurs; Wisdom, the puppy genius; and Ying, who fails at cognitive games that even pigeons usually pass with flying colors. Along the way, learn about when puppies finally start to retain memories for longer than just a few seconds, or when they finally develop some self-control. Raising dozens of puppies on a college campus means you get pretty good at answering big questions, such as: When do puppies sleep through the night? How do you stop them from eating poop? How can we help our puppies grow up to be the best dogs they can possibly be? Whether you are a new puppy parent or a perennial puppy lover, Puppy Kindergarten will answer every question you’ve ever had about puppies—and some you never thought to ask.
The French Revolution, politics and the modern nation -- French and the civilizing mission -- Paris and magnetic appeal -- France stirs up the melting pot -- France hurtles into the future.
After an English spy saves a beautiful noble from danger, he needs rescuing from his desires in this Regency romance by a USA Today–bestselling author. Meet the Renegade Royals, illegitimate sons of the Royal Princes who are finding their rightful places in society… Accomplished spy Aden St. George prefers to stay away from the frivolous ton, especially after the way his mother was used by the Prince Regent. But his latest mission compels him to guard unconventional, vibrant Lady Vivien Shaw. Rescuing her from kidnappers was easy. Resisting her beauty is not. Duty demands he keep an eye on her—and naturally, his lips soon follow. For someone who views entanglements as a weakness, this is pure, delicious folly… Though grateful for Aden's help, Vivien has secrets she must keep hidden. Yet with her abductors still at large, she needs Aden's protection almost as much as she craves his touch… “Full of intrigue, emotion and sensuality.”—Katharine Ashe, USA Today–bestselling author “If the remainder of Kelly’s Renegade Royals series is as arresting and entertaining as this kickoff, then Regency romance fans are in for a royal treat…. Kelly…combines diverting dialogue, delightful surprises, and finely tuned pacing to make this a winner.”—Publishers Weekly
A girl. A calling. A wish. Nadia’s Wish takes you on a multifaceted journey through a young girl’s bereavement over the loss of her Nana with whom she had an essential, daily, and foundational relationship. Through magical storytelling, we experience the essence of Nadia’s dear Nana as we meet the mystical and enchanting friends who have woven themselves into the tapestry of her family’s life in Cayo Hueso.
The perfect gift for dog lovers and readers of Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz—this New York Times bestseller offers mesmerizing insights into the thoughts and lives of our smartest and most beloved pets. Does your dog feel guilt? Is she pretending she can't hear you? Does she want affection—or just your sandwich? In their New York Times bestselling book The Genius of Dogs, husband and wife team Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods lay out landmark discoveries from the Duke Canine Cognition Center and other research facilities around the world to reveal how your dog thinks and how we humans can have even deeper relationships with our best four-legged friends. Breakthroughs in cognitive science have proven dogs have a kind of genius for getting along with people that is unique in the animal kingdom. This dog genius revolution is transforming how we live and work with dogs of all breeds, and what it means for you in your daily life with your canine friend.
Based on research that was awarded the Governor General's Academic Gold Medal, Healing Home is an exploration of the lives and health of young women experiencing homelessness. Vanessa Oliver employs an innovative methodology that blends sociology and storytelling practices to investigate these women's access to health services, their understandings of health and health care delivery, and their health-seeking behaviours. Through their life stories, Oliver demonstrates how personal and social experiences shape health outcomes. In contrast to many previous studies that have focused on the deficits of these young people, Healing Home is both youth-centric and youth-positive in its approach: by foregrounding the narratives of the women themselves, Oliver empowers a sub-section of the population that traditionally has not had a voice in determining policies that shape their realities. Applying a strong, articulate, and systemic analysis to on-the-ground narratives, Oliver is able to offer fresh, incisive recommendations for health and social service providers with the potential to effect real-world change for this marginalized population.
An Introduction to Organic Geochemistry explores the fate of organic matter of all types, biogenic and man-made, in the Earth System. investigates the variety of pathways and biogeochemical transformations that carbon compounds can experience over a range of time scales and in different environments scope widened to provide a broad and up-to-date background - structured to accommodate readers with varied scientific backgrounds essential terminology is defined fully and boxes are used to explain concepts introduced from other disciplines further study aided by the incorporation of carefully selected literature references It investigates the variety of pathways and biogeochemical transformations that carbon compounds can experience over a range of time scales and in different environments.
The Cherokees who first occupied this area called northern Georgia their enchanted land, but the discovery of gold caused a land rush, an illegal treaty of expulsion, and the Trail of Tears. Dalton was created when the Western and Atlantic Railroad was built to connect Atlanta with Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 1863, during the Civil War, this small town became a battle scene along Gen. William T. Shermans march, with both armies occupying the community. After the war, the leading citizens built Crown Cotton Mill and Village to expand the towns economy. In 1895, fifteen-year-old Catherine Evans hand-tufted a bedspread, ushering in the bedspread and tufted carpet bonanzas. With the invention of tufting machines in the 1930s and 1940s, Dalton boomed as carpet companies, supply houses, bedspread lines, and retail outlets brought wealth to the city. At one point, there were more millionaires per capita in Dalton than anywhere in the country. Today Dalton is growing with the help of a diverse Hispanic labor force and continues to be the Carpet Capital of the World.
No matter how you identify yourself on the wide spectrum of gender--and some people find themselves in significantly different locations on that spectrum from day to day--if you're Christian and you care about issues of gender, transgender, and justice, this book is for you. --from the Introduction Based on their own journeys as transgendered Christians, Mollenkott and Sheridan have created an inspiring book about hope, opportunity, struggle, joy, difficulty, and transcendence. They offer information and inspiration while sharing real-life experiences about the joy and pain of being both Christian and gender-variant to illustrate how each person's enactment of their authentic self helps to create an environment that moves toward moral justice for all persons. Those who identify as gender-variant or are struggling with their own identity will find this book a useful companion on their journey. It is also a valuable resource for those seeking to help their communities take the next steps toward a more just society. Chapter topics include: ¥ Equipping for the Journey ¥ Reordering Our Travel Priorities ¥ Virginia Ramey Mollenkott's Gender-Variant Journey ¥ Vanessa Sheridan's GenderVariant Journey ¥ What Does It Mean to Walk a Transgender Christian Pathway? ¥ Reclaiming Our Territory, Mapping Our Pathway ¥ Developing a Theology for the Transgender Journey ¥ Coming Out as an Act of Faith ¥ Wilderness Pilgrims and Prophets ¥ÊSteps that Lie Ahead
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