How much do you save? Poll and two articles

There was a great story today in the San Jose Mercury News about our coutries debt and the low savings rate of Americans.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/education/11704288.htm

And then I read this as well:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7923523/

How much do you save?  Are you able to save?  Do you even think about saving?

More....

Right now our family puts about 12 percent of my husbands salary in a IRA type account, and we also have 7 percent taken out for a pension (yes, a government employee).  

Beyond that we can't afford to save much.  Our credit debt is very low (about $300 is all we owe right now), but even still it is hard to try to put anything else aside.  This year we will be paying for a private high school for our son, and college tuition for our daughter (thank god I am working).

There just isn't much left over after the bills are paid to save.  Yet, as those two articles mentioned,  saving money has to be part of an overall strategy for living.

How can we substain the level of spending going on if all of a sudden people start to save?  What if we can't spend and can't save?  Will we stop spending and not save?  How will these things effect our economy?  

Health insurance is rising, gas is still going up, the cost of everything is going up, salaries are not rising, we have a new bankruptcy bill that will close off spending and savings, and anything else I missed.

So...take the poll.....while I go out to buy some flowers to plant (hell, the soul needs some food once in a while).