Will the Next Generation Be Better Off? | The Business Desk with Paul Solman | PBS NewsHour

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Will the Next Generation Be Better Off?

Name: Dale Wright
City & State: Salt Lake City, UT

Children in class; AP photo

Question/Comment: Will the next generation be better off?

Paul Solman: Who knows? But an interesting skeptic is Dallas Salisbury, head of the Employee Benefits Research Institute. I interviewed him recently for a story on what's known as "the paradox of thrift," an argument that says too much saving means too little spending means economic contraction means assets lose value means savings actually go DOWN. (Hence the paradox.)

Salisbury was so interesting, so provocative, that we ran part of the interview on the NewsHour. In answer to your question, here's a relevant section from the interview:

Paul Solman: How many years do you expect before we get back to the level of prosperity we were enjoying?

Dallas Salisbury: Personally as somebody that's about to move into my 60s, I don't personally expect to see it in my lifetime. And since my father lived to 94 and I expect to live beyond 100 that says "in quite a while."

-- Posted February 23, 2009 | Comments ( ) | Permalink