FRANKNOTE

But Americans may be saving even less than the government reports. Consider the way the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis calculates the savings rate: It takes a household's after-tax income (wages, salaries, interest income, rental income, dividends, social security, unemployment benefits, etc.) and subtracts spending on consumer goods and services (food, clothing, entertainment, etc). Whatever's left over is savings. But the government doesn't figure housing expenses into the spending-saving calculation since it views housing as an investment.