Question: How is the U.S. savings rate, which has gone from near zero percent in the past to 6.9 percent recently, determined? And a more elaborate question: Is it truly the difference between what is earned and what is…

Tonight’s NewsHour features a piece called “The Paradox of Thrift.” The phrase refers to the potential downsides of squirreling money away, especially if all of us do it at once. While saving is often a good thing – and something…

Dec 19

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Which Is It: Spend or Save?

Question/Comment: We’re told that lower consumer spending will make economic recovery much more difficult. We’re admonished that we don’t save nearly enough, and are among the lowest among industrialized nations. So which is it: spend or save? Paul Solman: The…