Personal Finance & Democracy

     A couple things really boggle my mind: 1) for whatever reason (being bad at basic math, lack of planning, an outsized desire to keep up with the Joneses, who honestly knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯), Americans are terrible at personal finance. This leads to my second point: we propagate a culture of not discussing money because people don't want to discuss something they are not good at or they are embarrassed at how little they know/understand - in other words, ACTIVELY promoting ignorance. Unfortunately, this ignorance of finance is also linked (in my opinion) to a general ignorance of government and democracy.
     You know the saying - knowledge is power. & as pressing as income inequality is, I think that actually just stems from another, more impactful circumstance of American life - knowledge inequality. You know who is financially illiterate? The average Joe. According to the St. Louis Fed, 57% of respondents couldn't answer 3 basic q's. If you check out that link and think those 3 questions don't accurately gauge financial literacy, then here are some more disturbing stats - 43% of Americans can't cover a $400 emergency, 38% of US households have CC debt to the tune of $16,000 at 16.75 APR (a terrible rate), and 56% of American adults have little or no retirement savings (33% have nothing saved + 23% have <$10,000 saved).
     You know who is financially literate (& just so happens to benefit from the general population's ignorance)? People who set interest rates, CEO's, landlords, the whole financial sector (obviously), among others - basically, anyone who runs anything has to be financially literate. Don't get me wrong - I'm not so paranoid as to think that there's a conspiracy of elite plotting how to keep the general populace in the dark. I think the sad truth is that we've buried our heads so far in the sand that there doesn't need to be.
     This circumstance - a minority of people who know how money works in the short & long-term compared to a majority who do not - creates other outcomes. A poor understanding of money leads to a poor understanding of government - from implementation (because policies require $$$ to enact, but people have no money sense) to elections (because more $$$ leads to higher chances of election, even though people think they are voting on ideas [while they are actually voting based on ads + exposure/propaganda]). Finally, a poor understanding of government leads to support of poor policies, officials, and institutions.
     With all that being said - what's there to do? Well, ignorance is combated with education. Here is a great start. You could also search "personal finance." If you're opposed to learning by reading - go the social route! Talk to your parents, your friends, your coworkers - anybody, really*. At this age, there's no good excuse not to learn about how money works. Your housing, your diet, your health, transportation, and everything in between - they all revolve around money. & for crap's sake - you need to abandon the notion that talking about money is a bad thing. Don't forget - knowledge is power. & don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

*Full disclosure: I am a (pretty?) open book when it comes to money talks. Salary, budget, savings, retirement - you name it, I'll talk about it. I'm sure if you reach out to those you are close with, they'll display a similar willingness to discuss.