Spending $ drives our economy- ALSO most people don't save enough to retire. What's up w/ the dichotomy here?
395710
The key is to spend reasonably after you've set aside your savings.
89253
besides putting our wallets further into the red, I am not sure. It doesnt sound like its going to be something the "average joe" is going to be able to do... its going to be for the wealthy to find a way to take it off as a tax write off.
658852
Where did you get that thought. I have studied Economics and there is nothing that says it is beneficial to an economy if a few people hold greater wealth.
693037
I think most people don't really take into account the current interest rate when saving.  Even though they have gone up, they're still pretty low, if you look back at history.\n\nI might be enticed into buying some long-term bonds if they go into double digits, but by then the economy will look a bit strange.\n\nPersonally, I haven't changed my habits from the rise in interest rates.  They're still too low to worry about right now.
1008119
If a peson retires and proceeds to spend all of his income as he receives it, you are correct. At some point he will need to adjust his lifestyle to meet his income.\n\nFar better to plan on living on HALF of one's retirement income, reinvesting the other half for future growth.
369152
Most people have been scared off of this half-baked ideas for various reasons.\n\nFirst, alot of people feel very uncomfortable giving the cornerstone of their retirement to the same people who stole the retirement accounts at Enron, Worldcom, etc.\n\nSecond, there were too many foolish promises made by the President, who said people could be as reckless as they wanted and still have some minimum guaranteed amount at retirement.\n\nMy personal feeling, however, is that the government has grown too addicted to skimming off of the Social Security collections in order to hide how much in debt we truly are. The government currently works with two sets of figures, the debt amount we admit to and the total debt we really owe which is much scarier.
221216
I don't know who told you that, but typically, what you could buy last year cost less than what you would pay for it today. This means that last years dollars were actually worth more. That's what inflation is all about.
657289
Wow, so you guys are at work doing these Answer things, huh?  :O  ....  Wow.....  \n\nDid I ever explain my theory on why the cost of living is so high?
218484
I don't know. But I think it's rising. more and more, people can't afford to retire. Plus some try to retire, and end up getting depression and stuff, and get a job again.
555753
Due to burst.  Real estate in way too many areas is way overpriced, most of it driven by Baby Boomer c**ksuckers who are buying up second homes and overinflating prices.\n\nAs the Boomers retire, they're going to figure out that without viable buyers for their pieces of crap, the prices are going to drop.
132399
Economists call this sort of phenomenon a high time preference:\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_preference\n\nSimply speaking, Americans have been conditioned to think that a bit of fun now is better than more fun later. The direct result of this is that most people spend all of their available money now, and don't save any. This sort of thinking is quite typical of late great empires.\n\nIt has grown into a monster, as now 70% of the American economy depends on consumer spending. If they do start saving, the economy is going to be in for a very large shock.
1141234
When you hear the economy is doing good, is not the whole truth.\nYes, the economy is doing good for those in the stock market which is mostly the top 5% of people.Sometimes you will hear that job growth went up but look at the kind of jobs created, low paying service jobs. Inflation is not all its cracked up to be, they don`t figure energy cost like gas for cars and homes or food cost. Last year the world for the first time ever consumed more grain then we produced so look for food cost to rise. The American dollars worth has dropped 12% from 2002. If China wanted to invade a country by them all they would have to do to stop the U.S. is to call up the notes we owe them. I never seen a republican president spend so much money or expand that much government
727590
I'd suggest that you do both. \n\nA pension fund is insurance, and it will pay off if the economy remains prosperous. Gold is insurance, and it will pay off if the economy goes into the toilet.\n\nThink about it. The Federal Government spent $620 billion more, last year, than it took in. The only way that massive hole in the budget can be plugged is to close down Department after Department, in the Executive Branch, or to raise taxes to the tune of $2,000 or more for every person in the country. If neither option is exercised, the dollar will have to lose value. That's just the way it is. And if the dollar loses value, then whatever you have in savings will also lose value. It's called inflation, and it is a killer of wealth.\n\nGold is a hedge against inflation. If inflation is high, the price of gold goes up, maintaining the security of your savings.\n\nThe price of gold didn't start going down, in the 80s, until the Government proved that it was serious about fighting inflation, and maintaining some sort of stability in the value of the dollar. The price of gold is going up, now, because the Government has proved that it doesn't give a damn about the value of the dollar. Inflation is already raging at a rate higher than it was, when Nixon initiated his failed attempt to control wages and prices, in the 70s.\n\nThe way I look at it, inflation will eat away at the savings you've invested in your pension fund. That's why I'd recommend buying gold bullion. But, on the off chance that we manage to muddle through, somehow, due to some sort of divine intervention, I'd keep contributing to my pension plan, too.\n\nLook at the price that you think gold will achieve, in the next few years. How many ounces of gold will you have to own, at that price, in order to be able to pay off your house? I'd suggest that you find a way to accumulate that many ounces of gold.\n\nOf course, there's always the risk of a second gold confiscation, in the US. They did it before, and they can do it again. Beware.
1153642
Because US is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. People are living a good life compare to the rest of the world. They have education, health care, basic services, advance technology, a largely advanced military, free media, etc.\n\nYes, the US govt is borrowing lots of money, but consumer spending is unbelievable. One of the richest countries in the world, and yet lack of education in finance. Most of these people don't know how to save.\n\nIn economical sense, the value of the dollar is constantly fluctuating. You need to understand Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy to understand it.
111332
Here we go again.\n\nFunny how the top 10% of all the income earners in the US still pay 90% of the taxes. But we, once again, hear the typical spew from the lib answerers about taking money from the poor or the middle class. Hell, if ANYTHING it should be the middle class and the wealthy to complain that we are in a punnishment tax system, where the wealthy pay more of a percentage than everyone else. (As you can tell I am a proponent of the flat tax system, with no loopholes or deductions, everyone paying the same percentage)\n\nBut as for what this administration/party has helped do. The economy is in a slow growth cycle, enabling workers to find new jobs, companies to prosper more (providing more chances at advancement), and small businesses to take a chance and thrive again with the increased power of spending. Thank GOD this is not another sudden boom movement like in the 90's, resulting in the inevitable market and economic correction.\n\nReduction in tax rates to have more $$$ in the pockets for those that earn it (notice I did not say more money given to those who feel the government OWES them a living)\n\nIncreased defense efforts to help secure this country more than what it was before. Still much more to be done, but this is better than cutting defense like some other President that can easily be named.\n\nTried to put more control over retirement funds back to the individual, instead of being controled by an outdated and failing Social Security system. I still have hope that this will happen in some form in the future. Again, the government is not responsible, and should not be responsible for the monetary well being of any individual that is not employed by that government.\n\nThe list can go on. But many of the uber-libs will continue to have it go in one ear and out the other, per usual.
659053
America can't do it now. What do you think is driving up the forced inflation rate. America is over printing money to cover the debt, ant driving the dollar down with it. The Republicans always do this when they are in power. There is no trickle down theory, since they wont share the wealth. America is looking at 30 years at this point to just break even, and balance the budget again like Clinton did.
90610
It's pretty simple. Lowering interest rates encourages spending, which rejuvenates the economy. Alan Greenspan has done a fabulous job here in the USA and I wish he hadn't retired.