Ben Bernanke: Educating Citizens on Financial and Economic Literacy

Americas debt has doubled over the past several years, and most Americans do not know how to manage their finances. One of the only solutions that come to mind when thinking of how to make the economy better is financial literacy courses. [Thesis] Students should be required to take financial literacy class before graduating high school because [Reason 1] people need to learn how to logically make financial decisions, [Reason 2] and also to prepare people to make important economic decisions in an ever changing economy.

Ben Bernanke was a key player in U.S. economic policy well before the Great Recession, and during that time seems to have achieved almost mythical status. The prolonged economic crisis has kept him front and center in the news, with regular appearances on Capitol Hill and increasingly heated rhetoric from detractors. As Federal Reserve chairman, Bernanke maintains as he attempts to steer the nation onto a steadier economic course. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is, by all accounts, a man of formidable intelligence. He scored 1590 on his SATs, taught himself calculus in high school, and graduated

Government help was seen as the only way to avoid a total economic collapse in the United States, although many thought it could result in a worldwide economic recession. On September 18, 2008 the 700 dollar bailout plan was proposed to congress. Fed Chairman Ben Bernake is quoted telling congress, “If we don’t do this, we may not have an economy on Monday” (The Housing Market Crash of 2007, 2011). This is when it became apparent that the government had a stake in this situation. When people begin questioning whether the United States economy will still exist, the government then has a huge role in the survival of not just the economy, but the entire country. The government is in a situation where it must decide how to protect the American economy, the citizens, the businesses, and the future of the United States of America. On October 3, 2008 congress passed “Emergency Economic Stablization Act” (H.R. 1424- 110th Congress, 2008) which led to the lending of 700 billion dollars’ to

The article by Justin Wolfers describes how the Federal Reserve System (Fed), also known as the central bank of the United States, can alter monetary policy to help the economy recover during downtimes and recessions. Although the Federal Reserve System is not technically a political institution, such as that of the Bank of Canada, after it was nationalized in 1938, with its overall responsibilities lying with a board of directors. In other words, the Fed does not stack the deck to assist either the Democrats or Republicans; their decisions can still be influenced by congress and presidential elections due to the fact that a lot of the principles in money and banking are political. For example, changes in fiscal policy can also help an economy recover, which is defined as policy that involves decisions about government spending and taxation. Additionally, if the Fed were to turn to unconventional measures leading up to an election, political outrage, especially from Congress, would be likely. Therefore, these policy-makers at the Federal Reserve System are often left inadequately prepared to respond to an economic downturn or recession.

During the spring of 2008, rumors were circulating that the investment bank Bear Stearns would fail due to their massive investments in subprime mortgages, or “toxic assets.” These rumors were able to decline the companyʻs stock from $171 to $57 dollars a share, and bankruptcy was imminent. Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, realized that Bear Stearns could not be allowed to go bankrupt because they were deeply connected to many other firms, which would result in major economic failure. In response to the crisis, Bernanke lent money to JP Morgan, which then lent the money to Bear Stearns, as the Federal Reserve could not directly lend money to Bear Stearns as it is an unregulated investment bank. After this process, Henry Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, relied on the principle of moral hazard and notified the other banks that

Investing was not the only vehicle used to accumulate wealth. Saving your money effectively is one of the strongest vehicle for wealth. It is not how much money you make it is how you manage it that counts. The best rule of thumb to use the 5% percent rule. This is where you save 5% of your check before you even spend it on bills. So if your check is $100 you save $5, then you will pay your bills. The reasoning behind is that percentage you are saving is going towards you and not anything else for your personal gain. From 5% you will work your way up to as high as you want as long as you can also pay your bills. Financial literacy is a problem in this country which is affecting the nation negatively. If we knew how to use our money properly

The discussion weather or not we need credit for a financial literacy class or not has become a big deal. We all have our opinions on if it does or doesn’t. I believe that a financial literacy class shouldn’t have a credit needed to graduate. Reason for this is because High School students already have enough credits they need to get and also it seems like a street smarts class. Something that most of us should already know well enough to be fine off.

It’s no secret that a majority Americans struggle with all things finances. The jargon alone is enough to leave many confused, and with the complexities of modern economy becoming an ever increasing tangled mess, Americans are looking to do something about it. One popular suggestion is financial literacy classes for high school students. While the idea sounds promising, the reality of these classes is rather farfetched. People praise the thought of implementing financial literacy into our school system in order to help kids in their future. This praise is filled with good intentions, but the sad fact is that this is not in a student's best interest.

     Alan Greenspan, the current chairman of the Fed comes under great attack and praise with every move the Fed makes. He is, in a sense, the embodiment of the Fed. He has been in charge of the Fed since 1987. Some economists blame him for the recession of the early nineties. His influence on the interest rates as chairman of the Fed is monumental. It is his combined job as the Fed to steer the economy in a balanced manner that does not yield too much to inflation and to keep growth steady. Predictably, most economists are back seat drivers when it comes to watching the actions of Allen Greenspan, and they tend to feel they could much more successfully manage the economy than he. Many also agree with his tactics, so it is a two way street on which the chairman is forced to drive.

“His words had the power to raise or drop the markets”. Alan Greenspan spent 5 terms as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. Greenspan had a huge impact on the U.S. economy through his way of dealing with inflation. He achieved the role of being one of the most powerful men in America. Alan Greenspan was born on March 6th 1926 in New York City. Greenspan’s studies where first centered on music and jazz. He applied to Julliard but soon quit to join the Henry Jerome orchestra. After that he joined New York University where he received a B.S, M.A, and Ph.D(1977). in economics.

By the time of Ashton’s graduation, he knew how to find the value of x in a quadratic equation more easily than to balance a checkbook. His inability to know about financial literacy landed him into bankruptcy at the age of 25. Nowadays, young Americans who graduate will be asked to make financial decisions for themselves and high schools are failing to prepare them for the mathematics of the real world. Many students who leave high school face a similar handicap while dealing with simple deeds such as managing their loans, money and debt.Therefore, Schools in America should allow financial literacy in their curriculum since it gives a better understanding of financial management for the future.

What would it take to improve the level of economic and financial literacy in Americans? Gupta, A. K. (2006) quoted Chris Farrell as stating that “the case for economic literacy is compelling to the extent that it helps people navigate better through this world.” There are many financial decisions that Americans are required to make throughout their lives such as managing income, deciding what expenses are necessary like food and housing, budgeting for other necessities, saving for retirement, and hopefully achieving the American Dream by creating wealth. Without economic literacy there is a danger of making bad decisions and poor choices that can hurt one’s potential to not only create

First of all, before reading this book, I did some research of Ben Bernanke, who is the writer of this book. Bernanke is not only the former Fed Chairman but also a great and knowledgeable economist. President Obama described him as “epitome of clam”. However, his career has huge merit, also has artificial wrong, merit half-and half. The Wall Street Journal commented that after suffering a financial crisis which he has never been through, the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke lead United States avoid involving into a devastating panic. After five years, he used uncustomary policy to help United States to achieve economic recovery; however, the result is frustrating. He left behind the legacy which mingled with failure, fearless, persistent,

The Global Financial Crisis is a national period of economic difficulty experienced by markets and consumers. The global financial crisis was a difficult time for businesses to flourish in the markets. In parallel, potential consumers had to reduce their purchases of goods as well as services--until the markets improved (Global Financial Crisis). Former President George Bush Jr. was the acting president during the global financial crisis. George Bush Jr. expressed that the world's major economies could overcome the financial crisis. The central bank governors from seven leading nations had agreed to a five-point plan to prevent future global turmoil (Elliot, L., Stewart, H., & Clark, A. 2008).

Because of Ben Bernanke as Fed administrator, he goes over once in a while in addresses three and four as supporting about everything that the Fed has done on his watch and gives careful consideration to the different reactions of his activities. In speech three he rejects the read upheld by John Taylor et al. that expansionary monetary arrangement inside the mid-2000s filled the lodging blast by referring to the instances of states like fire and Espana that had lodging blasts while not expansionary financial strategy. In any case, there's a considerable collection of evidence to the very certainty that expansionary monetary framework has been a significant tributary issue to a few lodging blasts inside the previous century ( Bordo and Landon Lane 2013). The creator also skates over the Lehman Brothers crumple. There's no exchange of the