Angry Bear has an interesting post on the further decline in the US savings rate (go read it) which contains this arresting statistic:
The personal saving rate fell to just 0.2% of after-tax income in October. That means that an average family that earns $75,000 per year, with take-home pay of about $5,000 per month, is saving about $10 per month. That's it.
Given that many jobs (one quarter, according to an NPR report) are low income and that many families, at least, are either living in poverty or teetering one financial disaster (like a catastrophic illness) away from poverty, it’s not at all surprising. These families have no savings because there’s nothing to save. Food, rent, the rising cost of transportation, etc., suck the money from their wallets and purses almost from the moment the check’s cashed.
Even those with higher incomes hear only a great sucking sound from their savings as housing costs spiral to absurd levels.