Everyone says that Americans aren't saving enough. Now that the housing bubble has collapsed, we blame this lack of savings on the illusion of wealth generated by the rising prices of houses. When the stock market bubble collapsed a while back, we blamed this lack of savings on the illusion of wealth generated by the rising prices of stocks. Still, people are told to save, and to invest their money for that somehow magically guaranteed 6 or 7 percent annual return on investment. Where is that return supposed to come from? If we invest in stocks, any growth is denounced as illusory. If we invest in housing, any growth is denounced as illusory. What are we supposed to invest in? Picassos? vintage lunch boxes? The current wisdom is to invest in FDIC backed CDs, but that doesn't speak well for the private sector. Is all wealth mere illusion unless it is backed by the government? Maybe we should be investing more in our government?