Friday, May 24, 2019

Americans Don't Have Savings by Choice

These stories come out every few months: Almost 40% of Americans Would Struggle to Cover a $400 Emergency

What Americans don't have to struggle to pay for: big screen TVs, ipads, expensive tennis shoes, Starbucks, streaming TV services, cellphone service, legalized marijuana, and everything else in this mass consumer society.

No one is saying "Hey, we should cut off our cable and Netflix, which cost $100 a month, and check out free library books for the next four months so we can save $400 for an emergency".

Few people live below their means, or are willing to sacrifice to do so.  Mass debt shoveled at everyone means relatively poor families max out the cards for that Disney vacation.  Gratification now, and worry about paying later.

The lack of savings is just a reflection of debt-fueled mass consumption encouraged not only by corporations, but by the government.


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