Spend! No, Save! No, wait... Uh...

In 2001 the Bush admin sent $300 checks out to us individual taxpayers. The intent was to get us to go spend it. It was a way to kickstart the economy. And the message that went with it - in the clearest terms - was, "Go to the store. Buy something. Spend more soon. Let this $300 just be the tip of the iceburg. Your job as a patriotic 'merican is to spend money to save this economy."

Low, low interest rates is what really fueled this spending spree. What low, low interest rates should be doing, and is for some, is to encourage investment. But what it does for the average middle to low income family is to encourage leveraging to the hilt - to buy lots and lots of crap you probably don't need. On the Home Equity Loan they got. Because that segment of society is not a big invest-for-the-future demographic. And pulling out 95% of your home's equity to buy SUVs and boats with is more fun. The very best investment for the future a person could have made is now drained dry so they can buy toys that are devalued the instant the check is signed.

Now we are getting word that the US rate of individual savings is lower than at any point since the depression. It's actually gone negative - we are spending well more than we are earning or saving.

This is considered Very Perilous in economic terms. Bad news. Especially when one considers that the growing majority of the public is in or racing toward retirement.

I'm no economist. Nor is George Bush a leader.