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2020-04-17 Economy

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Posted by Besoeker 2020-04-17 02:26|| || Front Page|| [11 views ] Top

#1 I'll go on the limb here - because they don't save?

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2020-04-17 04:29|| 2020-04-17 04:29|| Front Page Top

#2 Neo-Keynesians demand the government maximise rent-seeking via stealthy ways.

They keep enough capitalism to skim from and progressive big government funding taxes on workers they can loot from and tax-cut outs for the ways they live.

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2020-04-17 05:12|| 2020-04-17 05:12|| Front Page Top

#3 But owning hard assets, especially real estate is eeeevil, right BP?

Posted by M. Murcek 2020-04-17 05:34|| 2020-04-17 05:34|| Front Page Top

#4 Because - mathematical model.

Posted by Bobby 2020-04-17 09:52|| 2020-04-17 09:52|| Front Page Top

#5 I'm sure there are thousands of examples of similar stories, but I will never forget a married young woman, husband didn't work and with a toddler son. She just couldn't wait to spend her income tax refund (a few thousand dollars) on a big-screen TV. That was her goal. To each his/her own, I suppose, but don't come crying to me or the State that you are down on your luck thanks to no fiscal discipline/profligate spending.

I hope this latest crisis makes many Americans reconsider their spending (charging?) habits. Earning $0.13 per year on your savings account isn't much of an incentive though.

Posted by Clem 2020-04-17 09:54|| 2020-04-17 09:54|| Front Page Top

#6 To the young lady, that income tax refund was her form of savings. She could easily have increased withholding at the beginning of the year to have a few dollars more to spend each month. But she did not, in order to have the lump sum at the end.

According to this article from 2019, so recent but from before the current excitement, the answer is more complicated than the excitable Zero Hedge writer would have us think.

Of the Americans who have savings accounts, the median balance of transactional accounts is $4,500. The average balance is $40,200. This is according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, which is conducted every three years, most recently in 2016.

The Fed defines transactional accounts as checking, savings, money market and call accounts, as well as prepaid debit cards. Retirement and brokerage accounts, for instance, would not qualify as transactional accounts.

House equity is also not counted, though I seem to recall that for most Americans their house equity is the largest financial instrument in their portfolio.

Posted by trailing wife 2020-04-17 13:11|| 2020-04-17 13:11|| Front Page Top

#7 Why Americans Don't Have Any Savings

Because most of them never grew up in the 50's. See what the average citizen had back then and felt they were doing good. People saved to buy the next piece of furniture or basic appliance. We had home economics in schools for a reason. Credit was hard. Compared to today, that was poverty.

Posted by Procopius2k 2020-04-17 13:26|| 2020-04-17 13:26|| Front Page Top

#8 I remember when my dad was buying a new Pontiac back in 1969. The salesman asked him how he was going to finance it. There were a lot of things we wanted but he insisted on living within his means.

"Finance it?" he said. "I'm gonna pay for it all right now."

Posted by Abu Uluque 2020-04-17 14:14|| 2020-04-17 14:14|| Front Page Top

#9 Why save? Government is constantly devaluing your savings by printing money, so spend it while it still has value.

Posted by Glenmore 2020-04-17 15:59|| 2020-04-17 15:59|| Front Page Top

#10 It also doesn't help when time deposits & other interest bearing assets have been damn close to 0% for the past twelve years.

Posted by Raj 2020-04-17 17:18|| 2020-04-17 17:18|| Front Page Top

#11 According to this. only 15% of American household financial assets are in cash, other categories including credit, corporate and non-corporate equities, and whatever other comprises, claiming a total of $88 trillion shared among us. An interesting set of graphs.

Posted by trailing wife 2020-04-17 19:31|| 2020-04-17 19:31|| Front Page Top

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