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To: heraclitus who wrote (5858)	12/6/1998 3:07:00 PM
From: accountclosed	Respond to of 14427

Homer, there are others far more qualified to answer your macroeconomic questions, but you addressed it to me, and I will take a little swipe... 1. I'm not sure that we know what is going on with savings rates. Last month the figure was negative. But is one month a trend? 2. There is considerable debate about how savings rates should be measured. 3. Yes, if savings rates are declining, a lot of this is going into consumer spending that is like 70% of the economy. The point here is that without savings, such growth is not sustainable. Savings helps build real investment which can make for more permanent economic growth. Excess consumer spending can give the economy a temporary boost, but tap the consumer out (leaving higher consumer debt burdens) and leave nothing for the economy to build on later. So the negative savings rate is certainly a concern if the trend continues.