Americans Love Deficit Spending

[clb09]

http://images.fastcompany.com/upload/FC.com_Spending620.jpg

[Zippyjuan]

Bear in mind that the US has considerably more people than those countries as well. Compared to the recent past, we are not currently a spending "spree" right now. Over the past year or so our savings as a percent of disposable income has risen- meaning spending less than we were earning. The stat shown really does not mean much- particulary since it only looks at one month.

[clb09]

Over the past year or so our savings as a percent of disposable income has risen

Have our savings risen...or has our "disposable income" collapsed?

[Zippyjuan]

Incomes and spending have both gone down- but since savings have increased, then net spending has decreased. If incomes going down was the only factor and spending stayed the same then savings would be getting rapidly declining (or personal debts rapidly rising) not rising. The savings rate is as a percent of disposable (after tax) income so changes in income are accounted for.

Check out what the personal savings rate has done over the last couple of years in this chart:
http://dinomite.net/2009/united-states-personal-savings-rate/
http://dinomite.net/2009/03/personal-savings-rate.png

[hugolp]

^^ Keep in mind that in our orwellian world, when you return debt you are saving, at least in the mind of the guys who make those statistics. So in reality what is happening is that people is returning debt more than really saving (in the street sense of having more money).

[Pauls' Revere]

More Americans than ever before are dependent upon governmment! Read this article and weep.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/01/americans-reliance-on-government-at-all-time-high//print/

"This shift only postpones a solution to the problem" by substituting government debt for consumer debt, Mr. Bandholz said. "These elevated debt loads will at least result in sluggish growth rates for the time being — and if the problem is not tackled with determination, it might very well lead to another crisis."

[Liberty Star]

When Bush told Americans to go out and spend money at the malls and "stimulate the economy", they really took it sriously because he was the "war President". How can you be patriotic if you don't buy $120 jeans at the mall.