Blaming savers for saving too much is therefore, in my view, just as mistaken as blaming investors for investing too little. Both accusations have been levelled at this country very frequently indeed: Germans invest too little, it is claimed, and they save too much. And sometimes, the conclusion is drawn that Germans themselves are to blame for the low level of interest rates.
Let us consider the case of cell phones as an example. On the back of an explosive spread of cell phones, there seems to have been potential needs of consumers to make phone calls any time at any place. What embodied such potential consumer needs into a product of cell phone was the firms’ efforts.