Saturday, January 31, 2015

Who Saves, Who cares?

Of course a budget can crumble. Successful people get up and recover, however. A bigger problem is this. America today is in trouble. Most ppl realize that, and are not happy with the way government handles money or operates in this country (I speak of those who pay attention, not the ~40% of eligibles who do not vote) Flurries of scandals bailouts have destroyed any credibility left our Fed govt at the beginning of the century. Recently taxes consumed, in various forms, appx 33% of all Americans' GDP. Is this an excuse for not saving? I think not. Change comes and goes, and the lessons past generations have learned others forget. A lot of people today are determined to maintain a certain standard of living, regardless of their income. Until ~1930, Govt spending as a percent of GDP was below 10% on avg, until a couple of world wars and some new idealism permanently changed the way people view the function of government and what they expect from their government (They seem to have also forgotten their responsibility as citizens in government)
So, my question is: - Is todays' spending by people, and their lack of savings an isolated problem, or is it related to the idealism and spending that those same people seem to approve of in govt? Furthermore, is the recently growing friction as a result of irresponsibility in the central govt going to produce any change?

My conclusion: if people should be saving more, many do not care, they would rather maintain a superfluous standard of living. Is there a problem with the way Americans spend money today? Will the dire predictions of a few come true (if we do not 'wake up'), or is everything really Ok as indicated by the last State of the Union address? Time will tell, be it next year or the next couple decades. Those who are prepared will fare better than the rest in any event, and it is never unwise to have an emergency fund, and a plan for the future that hopes for the best but makes accommodations for exigencies.

No comments:

Post a Comment