Since the old, who have shorter time horizons, have larger propensities to consume than do the young, this transfer has fueled a huge increase in personal consumption, reducing our national saving rate (saving as a share of national income) from 10 to 15% in the 1950s and 60s to a negative 1.5% last year.

FORBES: Magazine Article

That has required us to make up the difference between our national investment and national saving by borrowing abroad in the form of the capital inflow that finances our trade deficit.

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Those three forms of national saving fall short of national investment and have to be supplemented by an inflow of foreign saving.

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