reduces the savings rates for all too many of us. The result? Our national savings rate has been in the low single digits for twenty-five years. A little more than a quarter (27 percent) of American households have net worths of $5,000 or less. 47 percent of us report that we could not come up with $400 if we needed to without selling something, resorting to increased credit card debt, borrowing from a friend or relative, or taking out a payday loan.
