Thu Jun 15 12:53:13 EDT 2006
I thought that I would stay clear of this discussion, but James
Ahiakpor's last post brought out the empiricist in me.
He writes: "My jaw dropped when I read Roger Sandilands's claim
that "the business sector as a whole is usually a net saver." I have
always understood that the household sector is the net saver while
the business and government sectors are the net borrowers."
Well a quick look at the Federal Reserve's Flow of Funds Accounts
(http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/Current/z1r-6.pdf) shows
that Roger Sandilands is, in fact, correct. In the United States,
both Nonfinancial and Financial Businesses are both gross and net
savers. Why debate factual matters on the basis of one's memories
and intuitions when the facts are easily checked?
Kevin Hoover