Infinite Regress: Virginia School Neoliberalism and the Tax Revolt

WHEN MICHAEL BROWN was fatally shot in August of 2014, it brought to light disturbing networks of collusion among the police, the local court system, and the fiscal politics of the neoliberal state. Ferguson, Missouri, like many other cities across the United States, has seen its ability to spend on essential public ser vices dramatically curtailed in the wake of popu lar tax revolts that began in the 1970s. 1 Following legislative changes made in the wake of these revolts, cities, towns, and boroughs all across the United States became heavi ly dependent on the revenues extracted from user fees and fines, including the court fines that are imposed when a fine defaulter fails to appear at a court hearing or the multiple legal fees extracted from low-wage offenders. Missouri State Senator, Eric Schmitt, aptly referred to this as a system of "taxation by citation," whereby the police are authorized to issue on-the-spot stealth taxes in response to a panoply of often absurd municipal ordinance violations.