My son and his friend have undertaken a grade 8 project to help educate students about the dangers of debt. One of their goals is to garner public support for adding the study of debt bubbles and credit education to high school curriculum. Since “every generation’s memory tends to be as long as its own experience”, I can’t think of a better topic to teach young people–the earlier the better.
Part of the assignment is for them to garner evidence of public support for the idea. If you would like to assist, they have set up an on line petition here.
Follow
____________________________
;
The LAPD will find the guys who stole Lebowski’s car before this has any effect at all.
I bet that one will go over like an abstinence before marriage project. Debtors are the ones enjoying life now and, thanks to the Fed and other central banks, the downside risks seem low. It would take a great depression like event with years of suffering to change public perception on debt IMHO.
Wow, he is only grade 8. We should encourage any positive action from our children. Maybe you can document the process for an article later in the Youth-LeadeR Magazine.
Here is the link http://www.global1.youth-leader.org/
Thanks. Langley, BC
I think it’s a good idea to educate young people about money and markets. BUT; I would expect a lot of resistance to the idea from the left. If people are educated about practical things they may not vote left as often, and the left control the schools for the most part.
Starve the Beast is a better idea. Curtail your own spending, and they will be forced to curtail their spending. Especially these self-serving ‘spend locally’ programs. Gosh, I HATE sales taxes.
It probably would not hurt to provide instruction to young people about money and markets, particularly the history and other critical aspects. However, I would not be optimistic that some brief abstract instruction would provide much of a counter to the overwhelming and ubiquitous self-serving propaganda of the financial/investment industry. Not to sound too fatalistic, but I think every other generation has to learn things the hard way especially given the seemingly forgetful, complacent, and indulgent tendencies of human nature.
As for your remark that “if people are educated about practical things they may not vote left as often”, there is some truth to that. People who are relatively less sophisticated or overly “practical things” oriented tend be susceptible to influence or manipulation by vested interests, particularly deep pocketed media savvy non-leftist ones. Conversely, relatively enlightened, open minded, curious, critical thinkers, usually tend to have progressive sympathies. This generalizes somewhat but seems to be a universal phenomenon, just examine for instance the people in the vanguard of the current struggle for inclusive political reform in places like Egypt. Etc.