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While three-quarters of Americans report that they save something, half put away only 5 percent or less of their income. Forty-three percent say they aren't saving enough to maintain a desirable living standard in retirement.My thought was that 50% socking away less than 5% was not a bad thing. I considered the 13% (6.5% each from employee and employer) enforced "savings" of social security and this looks pretty good. Unfortunately social security payments cant really be considered savings since you have no control over the money once it is extracted from your paycheck. Indeed, a good portion of the working populace is being told today to not expect anything out of social security. If savings is such a boon and a desirable trait, allowing workers to opt out of social security would be a great place to start.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Savings Rates in America
I read a snippet by Laura Rowley in Yahoo Finance this morning bemoaning the savings rates in the US. The article states that:
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3 comments:
Savings, Schmavings...
Savings does not matter if one is mired in debt. Gen Xers (age 26-43) are the most debt-ridden group our nation has ever known, from school loans to mortgages to the latest iPod--thankfully there are illegal downloads.
The Boomers have spent away believing that Uncle Sam will always provide for them. And Xers know they will never see a dime of Social Security. Soon Xers will be paying into mandatory health care programs and will regret that they ever wanted to Burack Around the Clock. Nobody seems to accept that health care is a privelege and not a right.
Privatize Social Security? We could only wish. Because if the market does fall apart we would need to fix more than the Boomers' lipo-problems.
Excuse my angst...
Crasher
You can't have a blog called "Stuff wrapped in bacon" and not link to the infamous Bacon Cat!
http://www.scalzi.com/perspectivecatbig.jpg
http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/004457.html
http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/004459.html
Crasher,
Yes, to a point. A certain amount of savings is quite helpful, though. It gives one freedom when life leaves a dog turd on your lawn. Yes the boomers have mortgaged our futures to pay for lots of 'nice' social schemes.
Yes Mandatory health care and gov't sponsored health care are alosing proposition.
Rather than privatize Social Security, I would rather abolish it. Privatization would be a nice start, though.
Bryan, Cat with a side of bacon doesn't do it for me. I have no wish to sully such a wonderful food item with cat hair. You have inspired me, though. I will start a thread in the next day or two requesting good bacon related items. The problem is when I think of bacon, I think of the bacon wrapped and deep-fried scallops Alice made and I drift off into one of those male fantasies involving trapeze girls, hot tubs, lots of baby oil and a prodigious supply of bacon-wrapped foodstuffs.
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