A Financial Management Course Should Be Required Curriculum At All Colleges And Universities

I find it interesting the arguments you are trying to validify in this argument. It is different interpretations users seem to have on this website are extremely unique but, they all try and attack the government in their arguments. My argument is plain and simple. It doesn't involve the government "use of a gun for purposes of robbery and/or slavery" and while government debt can be through into the picture, it is not relevant enough to mention. This is about personal financial choices and the lack of strong financial choices that today's populations and mainly today's 18+ youth are making. Now to rebut the points you have made in your second round. Government debt is a hot political issue right now, we know our economy is suffering and that government debt is in the trillions. Wouldn't a government with poor financial skills encourage its' citizens to practice good financial management skills. Basic economic principles state that when an economy is suffering, members of the population are going to save instead of spend, whether it is through government bonds, long term investments, or interest from savings accounts. The three means just mentioned are great practices of financial management. Therefore an government setting a bad examples by taking on debt is actually helping to set a good example for its' population. At this time, there are no direct statistics available to show that 99% of college students don't have good financial management skills but, we are working hard on studies to prove this fact. Let me ask you...what percentage of college students in their freshman year do you think you can balance a checkbook? What percentage of college students knows exactly what the different interest rates on their credit cards and savings accounts are and how they are calculated? It is very possible to measure what good financial skills are. They are a basic understanding of the ways to invest, save, and spend money. It is also a basic understanding of the economic principles, business principles, and mathematical principles that make our financial system run. It isn't hard to learn and it could easily be taught in one semester or one quarter. For the purposes of this debate, however, we are not debating how this course could be conducted, we are debating whether or not a financial management course should be part of the required curriculum. We cannot prove that the state won't save money until we were to implement the program and see its long term effects. It is very possible that by implementing a financial management course, the nation could see a dramatic decrease in personal debt, lowering the cost of loans and many good and services. It's hard to force any entity to adopt a required curriculum unless they receive direct funding from the people that want the course implemented. Public universities would be the first to adopt this new course with the help of government backing. From their, given the positive results, private colleges would see the benefits and adopt the course as well. Those points being made, I have one last question for you. Would you, personally, like to see a financial management course at colleges and universities? Do you think it would be beneficial to the students at these institutions? Was there ever a time in your life where you wished you had more knowledge about some area of the financial markets? Have you ever wondered if there were better was to invest your money than by just sticking it in a bank savings accounts? I have enjoyed this debate and look forward to reading your next round. Thank you, Nate.