ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the costs we all pay for the complexity in our socio-economic system in health care; energy and electricity; finance; taxation; laws and regulations; and technology. It provides many comparisons with our trading partners in the developed world, countries like Japan, Germany, France, the UK, and Canada. The book begins with the narrative by describing the obscure NFL "tuck rule," used to decide a playoff game in favor of Tom Brady's New England Patriots against the Oakland Raiders amidst a snowstorm in 2002. The greatest institutional successes in American history have been defined by their simplicity. Incremental decisions adding new layers to the construction are easier to take than stepping back and starting from new bases, and so complexity keeps increasing.
