ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part argues that recognition of the importance of investment and saving in the process of economic growth has grown in policy circles, but that the disincentives for investment and saving yielded by various public policies usually are ignored or discounted heavily. It shows that a subtle effect, for example, of the erosion of property rights, is a reduced incentive to save, that is, to acquire capital. The part emphasizes in particular the multiple taxation of saving and capital. It outlines several features of the US tax system that represent hindrances for economic growth, and provides a detailed discussion of ways to increase the neutrality of the tax system. The consumption and reallocation of resources perhaps constitute the very essence of government, achieved in the main through its powers of taxation and spending.
