The United States is on the verge of total economic collapse, and a new Google Consumer Survey suggests that the average American is anything but prepared to handle even a small delay in cash-flow, let alone the coming financial crisis.
Formerly a nation of savers, America has unraveled into a nation of debtors, the vast majority of whom have little-to-no financial security. Some 62 percent of Americans, according to the survey, have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts – and another 21 percent don’t even have savings accounts!
The survey polled 5,000 adult Americans from diverse backgrounds and ages, to see how prepared people are for any potential hiccups that might occur economically. Young millennials are among the worst off, the survey found, but older adults are, in many cases, even worse off.
About one-in-five young millennials between the ages of 18 and 24 have zero dollars in their savings accounts, while about one in four older millennials between 25 and 34 have no savings of which to speak.
A shocking 31.6 percent of young Generation Xers have zero dollars to their name, while about 30 percent of those over the age of 45 are in a similarly dire position.
“It’s worrisome that such a large percentage of Americans have so little set aside in a savings account,” maintains Cameron Huddleston, a personal financial analyst for GOBankingRates.com.
“They likely don’t have cash reserves to cover an emergency and will have to rely on credit, friends and family, or even their retirement accounts to cover unexpected expenses.”
‘Great Recession’ drained most people’s savings
A similar survey involving 1,000 participants arrived at similar findings, noting that most Americans don’t even have enough cash on hand to get their cars repaired. As to how they would face an unexpected financial emergency:
• 26 percent of respondents said they would reduce spending elsewhere
• 16 percent would borrow from friends and/or family
• 12 percent would use credit cards
And it’s not just that people aren’t saving money anymore – many of them lost their savings in the “Great Recession” of 2008. Some 57 percent of respondents to a Federal Reserve survey of 4,000 adults said the financial crisis left them destitute.
There’s also very little incentive to save anymore, considering how paltry the return is these days on savings accounts.
“There’s no question that there is little incentive for most potential small savers to do so, even if they have some discretionary income,” says Patrick O’Keefe, director of economic research at the accounting advisory firm CohnReznick.
“Indeed, they face real negative rates.”
Time for the Federal Reserve to go
If you’re at all familiar with the nature of the Federal Reserve’s fiat currency scheme, then you realize that trying to save and make any sort of decent living in America today is next to impossible. When the Fed is free to print money at whim, bail out corrupt banks, and line the pockets of insiders, while sticking it to the average American, getting ahead is out of the question.
This is why honest politicians like Ron Paul have been trying to promote legislation to audit the Federal Reserve, with the intent of disbanding this corrupt entity, and restoring sound money to the American economic system.
“Fiat money is a dangerous addiction,” says Paul.
“Even if the Fed found a way to stop inflation, as long as the current system persists the temptation will always be there to resume pushing the easy money button. That’s why we need to get back on the gold standard and eliminate the Federal Reserve altogether.”
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