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TOO LITTLE SAVINGS?(A)(EDITORIALS)
Another day, another set of data. And another reason to worry. This time, it's the savings rate. Economists and politicians wring theirhands and gnash their teeth over Americans spending more than they earn. They shouldn't.
Monday's news that the personal savings rate continued in the red -- it was -0.8% in March -- set off new tremors. Last year, the savings rate fell to a 65-year low. Politicians now talk about a savings "crisis."
Americans, it is said, are dangerously spending themselves into bankruptcy -- running up credit cards, living hand-to-mouth and drawing down savings accounts, just to support their too-extravagant lifestyles.
Is it true? Well, Americans do save less than they used to. But they have reason. And it has nothing to do with them being less responsible with money than before.
Take the very idea that Americans have a "negative" savings rate. It's true,but only by the government's narrow definition.
Suppose you sell $10,000 in stock to add a new room to your house. When you pay for the room, it's counted as spending. But guess what? The money you pocketed from selling your ...
- Savings Rate Dips in July - Analyst Blog
- Newspaper article from: Zacks Investment Research - Analyst Blog Dirk van Dijk, CFA August 28, 2009 700+ words
Savings Rate Dips in July - Analyst Blog In July, personal income was...what happens if income is flat and spending rises? The savings rate falls. In July, the savings rate dipped to 4.2% from 4.5% in June and from 6.0...
- Why the falling savings rate makes sense.
- Magazine article from: ABA Banking Journal Chmura, Christine October 1, 1999 700+ words
...Thus, the savings rate that the department...consumption of all Americans during the month...currently negative savings rate does not necessarily mean that Americans are spending...the Fed's savings rate indicates that Americans are not saving...
- Age Structure and the Personal Savings Rate in the United States, 1956-1995.
- Magazine article from: Southern Economic Journal Thornton, John July 1, 2001 700+ words
...to time series data on the personal savings rate and the age structure of the population...the period 1956-1995, The personal savings rate is cointegrated with the ratios of minors...and significant impact on the personal savings rate. The results support the life-cycle...
- Impact of nation's savings rate may be overstated, economist says. (Originated...
- Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Stock, Craig July 7, 1993 700+ words
...markedly. The low savings rate in the United States...in wage growth for American workers. Savings provide...suggests. And, while Americans typically save less...Germans or the French, Americans have more accumulated...What looks like a low savings rate in the United States...
- Is savings rate really as bad as it appears?
- Newspaper article from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA) February 6, 2005 700+ words
...the personal savings rate reflects a...or whether Americans actually are...the personal savings rate "is irrelevant...is left of Americans' disposable...plunging personal savings rate suggests that many Americans are not saving...
- Savings rate is nothing, sort of.
- Newspaper article from: The Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, Indiana) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News) August 8, 2005 700+ words
...the national savings rate is not the...much money Americans save, said...don't mean Americans are saving...accurate to say American households...1994, the savings rate was nearly...though most Americans pay for them...
- The Baltimore Sun Eileen Ambrose column: Savings rate still not good...
- Newspaper article from: Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, MD) September 4, 2007 700+ words
...about the status of Americans' finances without...claim the way the savings rate is computed makes...instance, that the savings rate doesn't consider...s allowed many Americans to pull money out...Revisions in the savings rate are common, too...
- Personal Savings Rate Numbers Cause for Concern, According to ShareBuilder CEO.
- Press release article from: PR Newswire April 30, 2007 700+ words
...amount of money Americans save as a percentage...one in four Americans have no savings...the negative savings rate, this lack...the average American's retirement...Department releases savings rate data quarterly...expenses for all Americans. As recently...
