One of the first people I came across who shared my suspicions about education is John Taylor Gatto, author of, among other books, Weapons of Mass Instruction and Dumbing Us Down. Mr. Gatto was named New York City Teacher of the Year three times and also New York State Teacher of the Year. In 1991, he quit the teaching profession in an oped piece in the Wall Street Journal, saying, “I can’t teach this way any longer. If you hear of a job where I don’t have to hurt kids to make a living, let me know. Come fall I’ll be looking for work.” He brought to my attention that our current system of education comes from the Prussian system, a system designed to create good employees and soldiers, people who blindly follow orders, waiting to be told what to do, including what to do with their money.
As Mr. Gatto said to me recently, “The school system was not designed to teach children to think for themselves. Nor was it developed to just support the present-day notion that we can all be free. In actuality, our current school system is based on a Prussian model that was developed to do just the opposite—to teach children to obey orders and do as they’re told. Compliant and obedient students become employees who are content to work for the rich or become soldiers who sacrifice their lives to protect the wealth of the rich.”
Now, you may or may not believe that there was an intentional conspiracy against teaching about money in the school system. But what you cannot deny is that our schools should receive a failing grade when it comes to financial education. Whether purposefully or not, our system’s lack of teaching and instruction on money is a driving force behind the financial oppression many people in our country face today. It is the lack of financial education that has so many highly educated people worried about today’s global financial crisis. There are millions of people who have lost their retirement savings following the advice of financial salespeople. Too many people’s eyes glaze over when they’re forced to talk about their finances.
Reader Comment
I agree with what you are saying, Robert. I taught primary school children for 30 years before I resigned. I was frustrated by the education system. I felt that we set up our youngsters to fail because we were educating them mainly in things that do not equip them for life. The ancient Greeks believed in teaching people to think. We train our young to do as they are told.
—henri54
Exchanging Freedom for Money
If people do not learn about money, they can end up exchanging their freedom for a paycheck—for a steady job and enough money to pay their bills. Some people spend their lives in constant fear of being fired. That is why, for millions of well-educated workers, job security is more important than financial freedom. For instance, when I was in the Marine Corps, I had the sense that some of my fellow pilots wanted to stay in the service for 20 years, not to fight for our country, but to receive a government paycheck for life. In the world of academia, many teachers dream of the security of tenure more than the pride of teaching.
The lack of financial education in our schools has resulted in millions of free people who are willing to let the government take more control over their lives. Because we do not have enough financial intelligence to solve our own financial problems, we expect the government to do it for us. In the process, we surrender our freedom and give the government more and more control over our lives and our money. Every time the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury bail out a bank we are not helping the people; we are protecting the rich. A bailout is welfare for the rich. With each bailout, we surrender more of our financial freedom and our share of public debt grows and grows. Big government taking over our banks and solving our personal financial problems through government programs such as Social Security and Medicare is a form of socialism. I believe socialism makes people weaker and keeps them weak. In Sunday school, I was taught to teach people how to fish—not to give people fish. To me, welfare and bailouts are the purest form of giving people fish instead of teaching them how to provide for themselves.
Taxes, Debt, Inflation, and Retirement
As stated in Chapter 1, the four main forces that keep people struggling financially are taxes, debt, inflation, and retirement. I also stated that these four forces are directly connected to the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury. Again, once the Federal Reserve was allowed to print money and increase the national debt, taxes, inflation, and retirement had to rise. Saying it another way, weakening people financially via taxes, debt, inflation, and retirement allows for a government’s greater consolidation of power. When people are struggling financially, they are more willing to have the government save them, unwittingly exchanging their personal freedom for financial salvation.
In 2009, the percentage of Americans who own their homes is dropping. Mortgage foreclosures are at all-time highs. The number of middle-class families is dropping. Savings accounts are smaller, if they exist at all. Family debt is greater. The number of people officially below the poverty line is rising. The number of people who are working beyond the age of 65 is increasing. Bankruptcy is going through the roof. And many Americans do not have enough money to retire.
But this is not just a U.S. phenomenon. This is a worldwide personal financial crisis. The conspiracy of the rich affects every nation and all people of the world.
Regardless of whether you subscribe to a conspiracy theory, the facts remain that today the world is in the biggest financial crisis in history and people are looking for the government to save them. And regardless of whether you subscribe to a conspiracy theory, the fact remains that most people leave school without much knowledge about money, taxes, debt, inflation, and retirement and how these financial forces affect their lives.
Who Took My Money?
Take a moment to look at the financial realities many of us live with.
Realities and how they apply to rich and poor:
School
Most people learn nothing about money at school.
The rich learn about money at home.
Job
Most people get a job working for the rich.
Taxes
Taxes go to the companies that are owned by the rich and friends of political leaders in the form of bailouts. It is estimated that for every $1,000 in taxes you and I pay, less than $200 comes back as a benefit to us. The rich know how to play the system. They own the businesses, make more money, and pay a lower percentage in taxes than employees do.
National debt
When the government talks about trillion-dollar bailouts, it means that for generations to come our kids will be paying for these financial rescues of the rich. Our kids will pay for these bailouts in higher taxes and higher inflation.
House
Mortgage payments go to the banks of the rich. If you take out a $100,000 mortgage at 5 percent for 30 years, you will pay $93,000 in interest alone. This does not include fees, commissions, and service charges.
Retirement
Most people invest in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds for their retirement. Most of this money is invested in businesses of the rich. If the investment loses money, you lose money—and the financial planner, stockbroker, or real estate broker keeps the commission.
Cost of living
Who gets the money we spend for insurance, gasoline, telephone service, electricity, and other necessities of life? The rich. Who benefits if these necessities go up in price? The rich.
Reader Comment
I have noticed a real difference in the medical treatment between the social classes. You either have to be rich (self-insured or insurance provided)