Show INTO THE MONEY MAZE MAZEr r 11 I 9 r Capital investment is one of those dry terms favored by economists and increasingly by politicians What does it mean to us Oversimplified capital investment happens when a com corn company company pany buys new equipment obtains new machinery or constructs constructs constructs con con- new buildings to modernize itself and stay competitive The social fallout is self evident self nt job security for those already working and new jobs through industrial expansion for those who arent aren't A less obvious benefit is increased productivity more more output per worker triggered by investment in modern equipment which holds the key to keeping down costs Sad to say the United States has slipped behind in such in in- in vestments The investment rate in the past few years is a good deal less than what it was and is far behind the current rate of many other modern industrial nations Now whether the US U.S. should aim at some arbitrary target capital investment goal is a subject for honest debate What is undisputed is the sharp effect of those barriers to in investment investment investment in- in in- in vestment that clearly put brakes on our economic growth Foremost among these barriers are government policies that cause money in the banks or among company profits that would ordinarily be sunk into mo modernization to dry up Examples are excessive tax rates costly regulation and haywire haywire haywire hay hay- wire fiscal policies that bust the federal budget and send Uncle Sam scurrying to the money markets to borrow funds that might have gone for private investment So capital investment means a lot to all Americans Congress Congress Congress Con Con- gress and the administration in 1978 have haye a fresh opportunity to examine those policies that retard it and change them The health and strength of our whole economy depend on such a review i l l 1 |