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Re:Healthy Self-Doubt by hnarn on Saturday July 11, 2020 @01:20PM (#23803767)
> 1.3B Chinese can maintain an average savings rate of 30%

This is a good example of a statistic where the average is meaningless if you don't also know the median.

Also, which specific statistic are you referring to?

Re:Healthy Self-Doubt by martindbp on Saturday July 11, 2020 @03:23PM (#23805009)
For example: https://data.oecd.org/natincome/saving-rate.htm I was wrong, it was 46% in 2015. I don't know what the median is, but it's probably much higher as well. Having Chinese in the family, I also know from experience that they are more frugal and save much more diligently.

Now there's a reason the savings rate is high in China: there is practically no social safety net, and borrowing for school or housing is not common I believe. But my point is that we in the west could save more if we tried, it's just that in our culture we feel like, or we're pressured to, spend. To keep up with the Joneses, or because we feel we deserve certain things, maybe the same standard of living as our parents etc.