I realize that the spending rate of the American public is considered crazy here, and I agree.
But what continues to shock me is how ridiculously bad average, educated Americans are at saving and investing money, for retirement or other purposes. They're almost comically bad at it. They're so bad that I would believe coverage of the fact was part of some sort of a Onion article if it wasn't repeated so often.
According to this
newly published NYTs article roughly of Americans have zero dollars invested in the stock market though traditional tax-advantaged retirement accounts, taxable stock ownership, trust funds, pension plans, or college savings programs. Of the remainder, most have very tiny amounts invested, so much so that, "For 9 out of 10 households, even a shift in value of 10 percent — enough to qualify as a “market correction” — would “at most, have a 1 or 2 percent impact on their wealth holdings,”
On top of this, 57 percent have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts.
sourceIt makes me wonder what this will do to the US economy in the long run when these people have no choice but to work until they can't and then live in destitution off social security.
Some possibilities:
1) Will universal basic income have to be instituted to support them?
2) It will certainly mean that no politician will ever be able to destroy social security without putting in place a more luxurious replacement.
3) How will a nation where most of the economy is driven by consumerism be affected when 75%+ of the population become destitute?
4) How can they possibly be so bad at this? I've never earned more than 35k in a year, and currently make dramatically less than this, and yet I've managed to sock away more money than the huge amounts of the population that make more than I do. It's so strange.