On debt . . . and possible bankruptcy

When I was visiting Shanghai, a friend made an observation that the Chinese culture highly values the act of saving. From buying a t-shirt to a high-rise cramped condo close to the consumer’s Paradise of Nanjing Road. She pointed out that in North America we just take out loan after loan, credit over credit. Student loans, car loans, mortgages. . .it’s definitely a cultural difference, but now this culture of credit and debt is ravaging the world over.

The news in China reported a growing number of bad credits. This is similarly reflected in South Africa where the problem of credit is hitting the poor.

I just saw in an article that shows the expected contribution of net savings to the global economy in 2005. Japans leads at 157 billion, China at 76, Britain at -54 and the US at -724. According to a Statistics Canada report titled Review of Personal Disposable Income, the household savings rate in B.C. fell below zero in the first quarter of 2005.