Scary future
Found this article in the Plain Dealer this morning. Had a very frightening graph on savings vs. consumption in the US:
The PD had a better headline, which highlighted that the changes in spending over the last years reflect not just poor decisions by consumers, but increasing costs of necessities that have not been matched by increases in income.
It would be interesting to see this chart broken down by tax brackets to see what the story is for rich and poor segments of society. Is everyone spending more than is reasonable?
It would also be interesting to see how the spending breaks down. What percentage is related to debt? How much is necessary? How much is frivolous?
In any event, the near lack of savings since 2001 should be an alarming reminder of the need for a retirement safety net like social security.
The PD had a better headline, which highlighted that the changes in spending over the last years reflect not just poor decisions by consumers, but increasing costs of necessities that have not been matched by increases in income.
It would be interesting to see this chart broken down by tax brackets to see what the story is for rich and poor segments of society. Is everyone spending more than is reasonable?
It would also be interesting to see how the spending breaks down. What percentage is related to debt? How much is necessary? How much is frivolous?
In any event, the near lack of savings since 2001 should be an alarming reminder of the need for a retirement safety net like social security.
posted by onlooker at 1:19 PM
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