dagblog - Comments for "Do Americans Live Within Their means ? The president seems to think so."

I didn't even go into all

cmaukonen — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 22:59:06 +0000

In reply to Do Americans Live Within Their means ? The president seems to think so.

I didn't even go into all those college graduates with tens of thousands of dollars of student loans. Some even 100s of thousands of dollars.

I was going to do a seperate bog on that subject. Maybe later.

It all depends upon what the

Richard Day — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 22:18:35 +0000

In reply to Do Americans Live Within Their means ? The president seems to think so.

It all depends upon what the meaning of means means!!!

No....they have let them

cmaukonen — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:37:21 +0000

In reply to If the business sector were

No....they have let them shoot the horse and push the cart into the river.

I think we're finding that

Michael Maiello — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:44:44 +0000

In reply to That may be a comforting

I think we're finding that the downward pressure on wages and benefits is affecting all of the developed world. Europe and Canada are not immune, and though they have stronger social safety nets to watch the falling, the costs of those social safety nets is going up. Demographics actually favor the US over much of the EU, especially if we get a sane immigration policy in place.

That said, the problem is globalization. We're now testing the willingness of people in the US and Europe to accept lower living standards because of it.

That may be a comforting

artappraiser — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:34:23 +0000

In reply to If the business sector were

That may be a comforting narrative for many, but my reading over the last few years tells me it is not at all the true story as regards growing household/personal debt, as many Europeans got into the same bind starting at least around 2004 (or worse, as in the UK example.) Google "European personal debt" or "European household debt" and you'll see.

I'm not into doing the research for those who want to continue to believe what you're saying, go right ahead believing in fairy tales as regards this problem if you want. (Here's a quick example of one article from last year as an example.) Suffice it to say I think that "we've got to be more like the Europeans" may be the answer to other problems but it is not the answer to this problem.

P.S. Putting my suggested search into Google news, I found this from today:

For the first time in 12 years, the ratio of household debt to disposable income in Canada, at 1.48, exceeded the United States at 1.47.

The only problem with such a

Verified Atheist — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:25:34 +0000

In reply to I found this story really

The only problem with such a strategy is that it ignores human behavior.

He might be including total

Michael Maiello — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:03:34 +0000

In reply to Yup. I got lost in the same

He might be including total debt. Or, post-tax income?

If the business sector were

Beetlejuice — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:02:59 +0000

In reply to Do Americans Live Within Their means ? The president seems to think so.

If the business sector were forced to pay real salaries, adequate pensions...not 401-K's..., adequate health, dental and vision medical plans...similar to ObamaCare..., adequate vacation time as well as time off for other personal/family related situations, Americans would be enjoying the same life style luxuries as Europeans. Of course, Europeans and their employers do pay a price for their life style in the form of taxes, but they both seem to have more money afterwards than Americans and more free time to spend it on as well. Kinda tells me the average US worker has let the government...meaning the GOPer's...put the cart (business interest) before the horse (the working public).

I found this story really

Michael Maiello — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:59:33 +0000

In reply to Got this link from some nice

I found this story really interesting. Again, people get criticized for "raiding their retirement accounts" but it can make a lot of sense. Stock market returns will likely not rival the cost of present day consumer debt and since payments on standing debt are due monthly, they cut into income and can make saving impossible. This especially makes sense for younger people, since they can pay off debt now and then try to save more as they climb the income ladder.

Got this link from some nice

cmaukonen — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:46:46 +0000

In reply to Do Americans Live Within Their means ? The president seems to think so.

Got this link from some nice person. It fits here too.

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/consumer-index/april-2011-raiding-retire...