Mobility, the Tax System, and Budget for a Declining Nation

Nothing so exemplifies the American Dream than the possibility for each family to get ahead and, through hard work and faithful service, advance from generation to generation. Today mobility across generations is threatened by three aspects of current federal policy: a budget for a declining nation that promotes consumption ever more and investment, particularly in the young, ever less; relatively high disincentives to work and saving for those who have just attained a poverty level income; and a budget that generally favors mobility for those with higher incomes, while promoting consumption but discouraging mobility for those with lower incomes.

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