[Prince]

Again we see in 2006 a negative savings rate at 1 percent. This happened in 2005, and now it's the first time in 74 years that this has happened in consecutive years since the Great Depression.

What does this mean exactly? On the long term, this can't be sustainable, but things are under the illusion of growth, so everyone is happy, or at least not overly worried. Also, I've heard economists defend the negative savings rating stating things like 401k and IRAs aren't counted as savings, so the -1 percent value is deceiving. I'm not sure I buy that... I'd like to hear what others have to say.

Negative savings for US