What would you do to increase the personal savings rate?

[libertybrewcity]

Any ideas to increase the savings rate if the Federal reserve doesn't increase interest rates themselves?

[CzargwaR]

raise interest rates

[TNforPaul45]

Tax Credit (though I would prefer no income taxes at all)

For everyone making under $75K a year, for every $10,000 in personal, non retirement savings demonstrated, you receive a 2% tax bracket reduction in the taxes you owe.

Just an idea.

[WaltM]

personal savings rate as in :

a) rate of people who do the act of saving (population %)
b) rate of each person's income he saves ($%)
c) interest rate for people who save in a savings account

[sevin]

Tax people on what they spend, not on what they earn.

[dean.engelhardt]

Remind people that social security goes away in 10-15 years.

[fisharmor]

Legalize competing currencies.
People don't save because saving money is losing money.
Very few savings situations are going to beat inflation - it has been that way for some time now.
There is one single solitary reason to save: the knowledge that your savings are going to be of equal or greater value in the future.
It's too late for the dollar, so the only other option for a money that retains or gains value is competing currencies.

[buck000]

Turn off the Fed money spigot?

I'm probably ultra-naive/ignorant, but it seems like fixing the money supply would force investors to look for (and incent) savers in order to come up with working capital that doesn't devalue the currency...?

[Elwar]

Wachovia has their "Way To Save" plan that puts a dollar in the account every time you spend money using their debit card. You can also contribute up to $100 per month.

At the end of the year they'll give you a 5% bonus for the amount of money you have saved up in your account on top of the interest you're already receiving.

[Travlyr]

End the FED and eliminate controlled manipulative inflation. Saving money in an inflationary environment is only profitable if your savings earnings rate out-paces the true inflation rate. Saving money in a hyper-inflationary environment is economic suicide.

[Uncle Emanuel Watkins]

Any ideas to increase the savings rate if the Federal reserve doesn't increase interest rates themselves?

Tax breaks for small businesses. Split up major corporations into smaller companies. Do away with the lotteries as, by chance, they support tyranny by rewarding the wrong people who then don't reinvest it properly. Reward instread those who invent things to improve the lives of the people. That kind of thing.
As they have to be bailed out by the government while they close on the same days and work the same hours as it does, the banks should be treated as part of government. Allow the people to live under bridges and in the parks if they so choose to do so. We should be allowed to reject the "American dream' economy as a choice.

[WaltM]

Tax people on what they spend, not on what they earn.

wouldn't that just be printing money and hurting their purchasing power?

[WaltM]

Wachovia has their "Way To Save" plan that puts a dollar in the account every time you spend money using their debit card. You can also contribute up to $100 per month.

At the end of the year they'll give you a 5% bonus for the amount of money you have saved up in your account on top of the interest you're already receiving.

I inquired about that months ago.

it was a very convuluted way to "save", basically, nobody would spend money to save (unless you're talking about coupons saving you 15% or more), and people who spend such money aren't savers anyway (so they'd be the only ones benefitting from it, and they will likely not even notice).

[Koz]

Have congress pass a law mandating everyone open up a savings account and they must contribute 15% of thier welfare check to it.

[acptulsa]

Who the hell cares about the 'official savings rate' but banks? Banks want us to 'save' because it's good for them, but of course 'saving' in the traditional sense is nothing of the sort. You put in dollars and get out pennies. What's the point?

If they looked upon investing, or precious metal hoarding, or other such things as 'saving' then they'd get the idea that people do save their money--it's just that only a blamed fool assumes that setting aside an FRN is a way to do something besides rob yourself.

The 'Savings Rate' is pure propaganda. No one cares but the banks, and no one cares about the damned banks. So, who cares?

[AuH20]

The cruel irony of high interest rates for saving is that they usually accompany high inflation rates. ;)

[sevin]

Tax people on what they spend, not on what they earn.

wouldn't that just be printing money and hurting their purchasing power?

What does my idea have to do with printing money?

It would encourage people to save money because saved money would be tax-free money.

[Travlyr]

Tax people on what they spend, not on what they earn.

If the tax was only on "luxury items", would this tax policy be a voluntary tax?

[brandon]

Why should I care what other people do with their money? I care about my savings rate. I don't care about some national savings rate.

[erowe1]

Stop all the bailouts for people who waste their money.

[Elwar]

Why should I care what other people do with their money? I care about my savings rate. I don't care about some national savings rate.

Because everything proposed is because of some fictional "safety net". If every person in the US had $10k in their savings account, you wouldn't be hearing about "what happens if X happens and I can't afford to live" all the time.