elbows
Well-Known Member
The cynic in me says that decent education about personal finances is incompatible with an economic system that relies on being able to take people for a ride. If we really cared about preventing people getting into terrible economic situations, we could legislate against some of the things that send them down that path. I suppose we do this a bit, but there are still some obscene interest rates and suchlike around. I quite like rules that make bills easier to understand, but some smallprint remains inaccessible to the everyman.
Not to mention the quantity of media reports and television programs that give people bad advice about money, eg all the stuff that encouraged people to buy houses at silly prices during the bubble. People giving investment advice are salesmen by and large, and do not often have our best interests at heart.
The wider economic system could certainly be taught more in school, although it is a messy subject, complicated for multiple reasons. It is kept murky, this is a great way to prevent people from taking part in politics effectively. Another problem is that its not exactly a science like physics, the economic rules are more about politics and personal opinion than any rules of nature.
Not to mention the quantity of media reports and television programs that give people bad advice about money, eg all the stuff that encouraged people to buy houses at silly prices during the bubble. People giving investment advice are salesmen by and large, and do not often have our best interests at heart.
The wider economic system could certainly be taught more in school, although it is a messy subject, complicated for multiple reasons. It is kept murky, this is a great way to prevent people from taking part in politics effectively. Another problem is that its not exactly a science like physics, the economic rules are more about politics and personal opinion than any rules of nature.
