In the nineteenth century, personal and installment loans were extremely rare. Debt of this sort was considered a sign of vice. Credit based on the real savings of the American people went to the entrepreneurs who built the country. But a central bank that pushes down interest rates produces easy credit. Other aspects of the mixed economy shorten the social rate of time preference as well.
Welfare subsidizes immediate satisfaction and discourages saving.
Unemployment insurance discourages saving for possible job loss, lessens the fear of unemployment and therefore the incentive to work hard, and underwrites indolence for longer and longer periods, thereby raising the unemployment rate. Social Security discourages people from saving for their retirement. The inheritance tax discourages saving for future generations. Income and property taxes penalize the accumulation of wealth. Taxes on businesses reduce their capital and thus their ability to sustain long-term projects.