>If you counted 401(k) unrealized gains as savings (i.e., if your $10k
>contribution this year plus your $17k appreciation on the $150k you
>already have counted as $27k of "savings" instead of only $10k of
>"savings") then the "savings rate" would be "higher" ...
>
>All I'm saying is that it doesn't get counted the way people think of
>it. It's probably "right" to count it the way it gets counted (I'm
>sure Doug is busy or he'd tell me why)
Because savings is foregone consumption - it corresponds to investment, which is the portion of production that isn't consumed. I.e., it's a diversion from current income/production. Capgains are purely fictitious - they have nothing to do with actual production, or incomes earned in production.
Doug