Commentary: Forget Saving, America. Your Job Is To Spend

I have a confession: I'm not much of a saver anymore. Sure, I put enough into my 401(k) to get the maximum match from my employer. But I used to sock away another 10% of my paycheck for my kids' college, emergencies, and big-ticket purchases. I don't anymore: The stock market does my saving for me.

Multiply that mindset by tens of millions of consumers, and you grasp why the nation's already low personal savings rate has plummeted this year to 0.6% of disposable income. During September and October, the government reports, the rate actually dipped below zero--unheard of since the Great Depression.