Why don't Americans save more money?

theatlantic.com

13 pointsgshubert173 comments

Interest rates are too low and with talk of the possibility of negative interest rates there are no incentives to save money. When was the last time you heard of a certificate of deposit (CD) offering by a bank?

Your point may stand in the event of negative interest rates, but generally, it seems like you're assuming that what Americans are doing is finding investing avenues that offer greater returns than prevailing interest rates, which does not appear to be the case. Saving money will, by definition, leave you with more money than spending (not investing) it, even if the ROI is near 0.

> Rather than put $200 per year away in a low-risk, low-reward savings account, some put $200 into high-risk, high-reward lottery tickets.

>It is crude yet important to point out that if America’s middle-class and poor were cheaper with their money, they would be richer. One fine policy would be to ban state lotteries

oh yeah, that whole $200 dollars a year is really going to help.

This article is complete shit. ugh.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com