The Great Recession and Financial Literacy

The media speculates and places blame every day on what they think are the culprits of our current financial troubles and economic recession. Wall Street executives, poor mortgage practices and credit cards have all received their fair share of the blame. However, the media often fails to miss what might be the biggest culprits – consumers! It’s not something we like to think about, but many of us are at blame for our own financial crises because of a lack of financial education. John Hope Bryant, Vice President of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, penned just this thought in yesterday’s Financial Post.

There is one group of primary players, however, who have so far escaped the glare of serious scrutiny and analyses, yet they are likely major contributors to the current problem — consumers, whose spending accounts for more than 70% of economic activity in the United States and almost 59% in Canada. Rather than “blame the victim” of the global crisis, a close look at consumers helps explain why many became victims in a much larger economic meltdown. Consumers of financial products, particularly in the United States, contributed to the economy going off the rails. And the sooner we realize this, the sooner we can act.

If you want to begin to improve the economy, you need to take action on a personal level. Begin to financially educate yourself. Read books, speak with advisors and look at some of the educational Web sites dedicated to helping you. You’ll be on the road to financial freedom the sooner you do. To read the full article, visit the Financial Post.