NYT Editorial: Will Your Money Last?

Published: February 5, 2006

Americans spent more than they made in 2005, sending the personal savings rate into negative territory for the first time since 1933.

Government and business should be alarmed. Many Americans do not seem to believe they are living beyond their means, as long as the value of their houses are rising. But spending freely while the house appreciates is not saving for the future. It is betting that boom-time gains will last indefinitely. They will not.