Folks in Washington have announced that April is National Financial Literacy Month. The highlights of the movement include such things as, "Teach Children to Save Day," "Money Smart Week," and "Credit and Debt Awareness Week." Although ubiquitous among the 50 states, few are aware of National Financial Literacy Month's nefarious true nature.
Proclaimed as official days, weeks and months of observance by governors throughout the U.S, Literacy Month is founded, managed and sponsored by banks. Now ask the question, "What is the value of the financial literacy education given by financial institutions when these institutions specifically make their profit from issuing debt to the very people they mean to educate?"
HMMMMM?!?!?!?!?!?!
This is of grave concern to me because I've observed the flood of 15 second PSA's during prime time news hour of banks coming into schools to teach children about financial literacy. This usually involves giving the kids free plastic piggy banks sporting the institutions name and logo, and admonishments about the value of "saving" one's money. Thus another generation of 2nd graders is thankfully indoctrinated into the consumer economy!
Consider instead getting for yourselves and giving to your children the true financial literacy education of knowing HOW MONEY ACTUALLY WORKS in today's world. Unfortunately, this crucial information is sadly lacking in our school systems and we are left with only that which is spoon fed to us by entities that earn their living from our willingness to pay them interest each and every month.
Please check out the resources listed below. The following list of books and DVDs are produced and written by non-financial institutions. They are written by actual historians and economists. It's simply an alternative source of information on the ever important, yet ambiguous subject of MONEY.
Did you know....
* ... that the amount of money in circulation today is made from someone willing to lend to someone willing to pay interest on a loan. The less people willing to lend, the less money is in circulation and visa versa?
* ... that you are actually penalized for saving your money. The modern economy requires money to be spent, either by paying taxes or by spending. That's why you are taxed on the interest you make on cash you have in your savings?
* ... if you cut the massive government debt or curb government spending, so much money will be taken out of circulation that an employer will not have the money or credit to make the next paycheck, which means someone won't be able to get that Nintendo 3DS, which means, Nintendo won't sell as many, which means they will have to lay off people that normally get their clothes dry-cleaned at your laundry, which means you'll have to close your business and lay off your mother-in-law, which means, she'll have to move in with you, which means you'll have to get rid of the 4th car, so you can make her an apartment in your garage?
* ... the tax code changes every time Congress passes a law, even if the law has nothing to do with taxation?
* ... teaching your kids to save coins in a free plastic piggy bank from Wells Fargo Bank may be the worst thing you can do if you want your children to have financial literacy?
http://www.themoneymasters.com/
http://www.moneyasdebt.net/
http://www.amazon.com/Web-Debt-Ellen-Hodgson-Brown/dp/0979560888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302584110&sr=8-1
http://www.richdad.com/RichDad/RichContent.aspx?cpid=84
Is a bank visiting your child's school this month? Well, just beware...
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