File:Saving (at) the Post Office.ogv

Can we Create a Nation of Savers and Save the USPS?

Sponsored by the Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucus

New data from the Federal Reserve confirms what many have long known: that vast numbers of Americans continue to lack the necessary savings to support a financially stable life. Household savings are much more robust in many other countries, thanks to long-standing efforts to make small-dollar savings institutions available to every citizen. In other leading nations (notably Germany, France, and Japan), basic banking is often performed at a surprising institution--the Post Office! As America continues to grapple with a lack of savings and the Post Office struggles to redefine itself in the 21st Century, can lessons from other nations provide answers to both of these long-standing problems?

Please join the Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucus (co-chairs Representatives Jim Cooper, Thomas Petri, Niki Tsongas and Joseph Pitts) as it hosts Princeton historian Sheldon Garon (author of Beyond Our Means: Why America Spends While the World Saves) to learn more about this model of supporting small dollar savings and individual financial stability. Then join in the discussion about whether or not a postal savings bank might work for small savers, the Post Office, and the United States of America.

Participants Featured Speakers Sheldon Garon Author, Beyond Our Means: Why America Spends While the World Saves