Why is America's savings rate so low? I realize this is a large subject and cannot, perhaps, be easily answered in a few brief email, but if someone could point me to essays on the web that might give me a start on this subject, I'd be grateful.
I'm wondering, in particular, why did the savings rate decline in 1990s. I've read that at the end of 90s the personal savings rate went negative for the first time in American history. Does this not mean that Americans are now actively disinvesting from America's future? If so, what does that mean? Does it imply that some people think America has no future? Why would such behavior develop during a boom? What are the explanations that have been put forward so far?