Bill would help schools, nonprofits teach financial literacy

I applaud this initiative. I have been preaching for years that high schools should require passing a two year financial literacy course to graduate. A major reason for the country's current financial situation is the financial ignorance of the masses. Why is teaching about the Spanish-American War more important than teaching about credit cards, mortgages, investments and taxes, the things that actually affect our entire lives.?-Lou

Bill would help schools, nonprofits teach financial literacy

WASHINGTON — The numbers are startling. More than half of high school seniors have debit cards and nearly one-third have credit cards.

One-third of college students have four credits cards apiece when they graduate, and more than half of graduates have piled up $5,000 each in high-interest debt. The number of 18- to 24-year-olds who've declared bankruptcy has increased 96 percent in 10 years.

Surveys show that many of these young people also are financially illiterate: They don't understand such things as interest, minimum payments, credit reports, identity theft or that they may be paying off their school loans for years.

The problem isn't just with the young, however. One in five Americans thinks that the most practical way to become rich is to win the lottery.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., remembers that her kids started receiving credit card applications when they were 16. She said that she repeatedly heard from people, young and old, who wished they knew more about financial matters.

Murray will introduce legislation this week that would authorize $1.2 billion in grants over five years to promote financial-literacy education beginning in grade school and stretching into adulthood.

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