It's absolutely taking a risk, but for many people it is an unavoidable risk, and thus would not be considered taking "excessive" risk, as OP mentioned.
The relative cost of health care and other benefits makes savings a lost cause for the unemployed. You live one trip to the ER away from bankruptcy and homelessness every minute of every day. It’s foolish to blame savings rates for that situation, almost no one make enough to save at a rate that prevents medical bankruptcy.
if you live in California, savings are a dream for so many people. skyrocketing rents, high taxes, skyrocketing gas prices, expensive health insurance, and so on.
it's really hard for a lot of people to build up savings here.