Obama declares April is financial responsibility month

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Annie53

I think he is spot on. Young people do need to be taught how to manage money.

However, I don't think most parents are capable of doing it.....since most of them are so bad at it themselves.

I think it should be taught it school.

Very few things will screw up your life quicker than not knowing how to manage your money.

Shame on President Obama for wanting to improve peoples lives.

This probably is an April Fool's joke, but. . .

I do not support teaching financial management in school unless the teachers are carefully vetted. Whose values are going to be taught? Is the teacher deep in debt him/herself? Does s/he have at least 6 months worth of savings? And so on.

I am always shocked when I hear stories about how most people couldn't pull $5000 together in 30 days if they had to. I"m sure many teachers are right there with all the rest.

[Annie53]

Originally Posted by petch751

Lol, obviously it went right over his / her head. He wants parent to teach obamas economic theory.

Ummm....no.

Running the finances of the country, when you have different factions pulling every which way, is totally different than running your own, personal, household finances......which many Americans are woefully inept at doing.

Another point......if more Americans knew how to properly manage their money, it would have a great effect on how many government run programs are needed to bail them out because of stupid choices.

If each individual could sit down and do the math.....no, I can't afford that house,.....no, I can't afford another child, no, instead of buying that boat, I should put some money away for retirement.....it would benefit all of us and the nation as a whole.

Individual financial irresponsibility is a HUGE problem in this country.

[petch751]

Originally Posted by Annie53

Ummm....no.

Running the finances of the country, when you have different factions pulling every which way, is totally different than running your own, personal, household finances......which many Americans are woefully inept at doing.

Another point......if more Americans knew how to properly manage their money, it would have a great effect on how many government run programs are needed to bail them out because of stupid choices.

If each individual could sit down and do the math.....no, I can't afford that house,.....no, I can't afford another child, no, instead of buying that boat, I should put some money away for retirement.....it would benefit all of us and the nation as a whole.

Individual financial irresponsibility is a HUGE problem in this country.

You are right about that. The American people don't have the ability to print money or raise revenues on demand. And yes, if each individual would sit down and understand personal finance and what they can and can't afford then they got half the battle.

Imagine if people would not have bought into the "you can afford this home" or "your home has equity for you to borrow against". People buying things they can not afford, and not know there is a difference between un-realized and realized gains is what got them into trouble.