AJC: Americans are spending like the U.S. Government

From an AJC editorial: "Americans had an excuse for not saving money during the Great Depression: They didn't have any money in the first place.

That's not the case today, yet last year U.S. consumers spent every penny they made and then some, keeping the economy afloat on a sea of red ink. It is neither wise nor sustainable.

The Commerce Department reported Monday that the savings rate for all of 2005 fell into negative territory for the first time since 1933. By December, spending by U.S. consumers was increasing more than twice as fast as after-tax income."