5 Ways Obama Can Improve Financial Literacy

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hotel in der tuerkei of 1:52AM February 23, 2010

Great points. One thing people who receive financial education at work, is where the education is coming from and that is delivered by financial planners whose focus is merely education and are unbiased, otherwise, the platform will just be a room full of people financial planners can sell their products to. I may be biased since I work for a financial education firm, but our goal has always been to teach people about their financial options that are going to be in their best interest.

Danielle Perry of CA 7:03PM January 13, 2010

These are all great ideas that should be implemented immediately, but this is just a start.
It appears that most consumers will have to start from scratch and we all have to get back to the basics.
A lot of "financial damage" has been done and it will take an extraordinary effort in order to restore a sense of normalcy back into the economic system.
Financial Literacy must be given more attention than in the past in order to prevent another episode similar to what we are now experiencing.
Students are now receptive to basic concepts, since they are experiencing problems first hand.
Joseph Russo Executive Director National Council for Financial Literacy
www.weTeachAboutMoney.org

Joseph Russo Executive Director National Council for Financial Literacy of NC 9:20PM May 06, 2009

1. It's tough to legislate common sense and more tools and easier access to financial information is available now than ever. Having said that, kids need to have access to information that will inform and empower their lives whether they are getting it from home or not.
2. I'm not sure about studies that indicate parents don't talk to kids about money. It's hard not to imagine these communications taking place all the time, both non verbally and verbally. What's easier to imagine is that parents are not aware of the communications and that the communications may not be financially empowering.
3. It was very encouraging to hear the president in his inauguration speech emphasize responsibility and is equally important that he and the first lady appear to live that message in their lives.
Sam X Renick
www.itshabit.com
www.sammyrabbitblog.com

sam x renick of CA 9:43AM January 28, 2009

http://www.ChargeLargeGame.com
Check it out. President Obama should really look into the game and the Charge Large Responsibly Tour that the creators are on - going to high schools and colleges all across the country.
http://www.CharlieLargeBrand.com
Plato does say to educate through game and we do learn from experience (says John Locke); therefore, it is time to combine the great thinkers of the past with the present.

Spencer of NY 11:07PM January 21, 2009

For parents to teach their children the basics of finance is all well and good, but what about the parents who don't, probably because they *can't*, because they don't know the basics of finance themselves? Then it's perfectly appropriate for the schools to take over.
That's what the public schools are for: to make sure that all children have a chance to learn the things they need to know to do well in the world. I'd say personal finance qualifies.
I mean, you might as well say that it's the role of the parents, not the government, to teach children how to read, and if your parents don't know how to read, that's just too bad for you.

Johanna of MD 1:35PM January 21, 2009

Parents are responsible for and should teach this, not the President.
They should teach by these examples:
Don't spend more than you earn.
Save the first 10% of your pay.
Give kids an allowance and stick to it.

Steve of AZ 6:58PM January 20, 2009

It disturbs me that the author thinks Obama should improve financial literacy, Obama the figurehead or Obama the surrogate parent of witless Americans. It's another case of Americans abdicating choice to government. Americans are lazy, course, boorish, profane, docile, illiterate, whose idea of achievement is getting to the next level on WoW or getting more friends on FaceBook than a rival.
We have to claim our personal rights to choice, based on the principles set for of our Founding Fathers. "President Washington, your constituents are hoping you will intervene in their [private] lives by mandating a public policy of financial literacy for the common man and for the common good." Can you imagine that conversation 200+ years ago?
If the average American wants this information, the average American can get it. But it's not a function provided by Obama and the government. We Americans have forsaken the principle of self-reliance and now expect the government to wipe our behinds for us. Articles and opinions like Kin's perpetuate the sense of hopelessness and helplessness.
It's time now for Americans to stand resolutely and united against the infiltration of government policy. Stop believing anyone in Congress nationally or state-wide can legislate and/or regulate our way out of the innumerable ways for businesses, Wall Street or elsewhere, to perpetrate a crime. Was *anyone* complaining about Wall Street or low interest mortgages in 2006 or 2007?
Regulations and legislation only work for the prior round of misconduct - Sarbanes & Enron/Worldcom. Don't believe that whatever current reg and laws to pass will prevent the next ingenious clever but legal work-around to make money. Regs and laws work only have the horses have left the barn. A lock keeps an honest man honest; a thief will ignore the lock (the law) and steal.

Stephen Hobbs of GA 9:59AM January 20, 2009

Teach your children the basics of finance.
Tax their allowance (that's a real eye-opener).
Discuss with them what steps Mom and Dad are taking to adjust to the new economy and why.
Make sure they understand that if a seller won't let them take a contract home to peruse it at their leisure, they shouldn't buy the product.
Learning about finances is more than learning the terms and how compound interest works and that is why parents are the best resource. Finance is saving and spending wisely, making good investments and knowing when to do without.

Mary of NC 9:08AM January 20, 2009

It is deeply disappointing that the PACFL has ignored my 5 Comments for 5 meeting where I stated that the Truth in Lending Act (TILA, of 1968) does not use the mathematially-true Annual Percentage Rate, yet the Truth in Savings Act does. The rate TILA uses is the mathematically-untrue, simple-interest, actuarial, NOMINAL APR. In a loan noted in the Febraury 2009 Viewpoint article in Consumers Report, where a borrower was charges $120 for a 16-day loan of $400, the NOMINAL APR (NAPR) is 684% (120/400)*(365/16). I wrote to the CU President, Jim Guest, that the mathematically-true, compounded ("^"), EFFECTIVE APR (EAPR)is 39,650% (((1+(102/400))^(365/16))-1. The TILA allows a tolerance of accuracy of 1/8th% (0.125%). The EAPR is an astronomical 311,728 of those 1/8th% from the NAPR (39,650-684)/0.125. What should Obama do ... I would say put financially-learned consumer advocates on the PACFL and tell the member to recommend the use of the mathematically-true APR.
The TILA was passed in 1968 when machines with compounding were behemoth boxes in air-conditioned back room. Now, a $4.95 LeWorld, hand-held calculator has a compounding key. To change the law to the EAPR would be as easy as replacing in the TILA the words "multiplied by" to "compounded for".

A F "Bob" Blair Jr of LA 1:51AM January 18, 2009