Americans are saving more now than they have in over fourteen years, but they still don't save much.
Ron Wilcox is a professor of business administration at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business and author of Whatever Happened to Thrift? Why Americans Don't Save and What to do About it. He says there are a lot of factors to explain the lack of saving. But the key factor is a psychological factor: Americans are optimistic. He also says that the US tax system rewards consumption over saving--and, more controversially, he says the practice of giving financial aid to students in need rewards families that don't save over those that do:
Posted
06-04-2009 8:48 AM
by
Graham Griffith