Shadow Government: The Hidden World of Public Authorities - And How They Control Over $1 Trillion of Your Money
A wide range of services are provided to the public by almost invisible governments called special districts, government corporations, and public authorities. These "shadow governments" have been neglected by scholars; and the public is, at best, only dimly aware of them. Yet there are more governments of this type (approximately 35,000) in the United States than there are municipalities and counties combined. While some of these little-known governments are doing commendable jobs, academician Axelrod passionately argues that, as a whole, they are insufficiently responsible to the public and its elected officials and that through their reliance on fees and service charges, rather than taxes, they are shifting the burden of governmental finance from those best able to pay to the poor. Axelrod's book is not the long-awaited comprehensive analysis of these governments, but it deserves the attention of political scientists, economists, and informed lay readers.-Thomas H. Ferrell, Univ. of Southwestern Louisiana, LafayetteCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.