Are taxes moral? Can the police and military be successfully privatized? Is democracy economically viable? Uncle Sam's Prerogative: Perspectives on State and Economy answers these questions and more as it approaches several topics in contemporary public choice economics as they relate to public policy in the United States ranging from education, national defense, welfare, and others. This work provides an essential background development detailing how and why people choose to cooperate under the umbrella of government while faced with organizational and resource constraints, followed by a contemporary analysis of how these concepts are applied to the United States. Each of the main functions of government are challenged from a free market perspective presenting alternative solutions that will challenge the mainstream views on government involvement in the economy.