Contrarian: Why this paper is essential summer reading

CONTRARIAN

If you have not already read Michael Johnson's policy paper for the CPS think tank, Put the saver first, I recommend putting aside some quality time over the long, wet, summer to examine its wealth of insights and observations.

Quite simply, this paper is THE most comprehensive study of our savings culture – and one of the most damning. Johnson hits the proverbial nail on the head when he warns of potentially catastrophic consequences if we do not fix our deficient, complex, and expensive savings culture, quickly (by which he means before 2017). As we age collectively as a nation, we will start running down our already meagre savings, pushing up government debt levels, which will, in turn, force us to borrow ever larger amounts of money from foreign investors and institutions. Johnson does not quite come out an...