Earlier this year, Governor Walker created the Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy. I was pleased to join this council in time for its inaugural meeting last month. Improving the financial literacy skills of Wisconsinites has been a topic of great interest to me for a number of years. Strong financial literacy is a life-long skill that is best learned at an early age, before bad financial habits are established. It is clear that many adults also need to brush up on their financial literacy.
I began working on this issue in 2001 when I co-sponsored a Senate Joint Resolution with former Senator Rick Grobschmidt encouraging schools to teach financial literacy to high school students. The resolution did not mandate that local schools teach a certain course, but rather was an effort to get the Department of Public Instruction, the Department of Financial Institutions, as well as other public and private organizations to look at ways to help schools teach students about finances. In 2003 I authored legislation in the State Assembly that would have required students to take a class in financial literacy in order to graduate. Although this bill did not become law, financial literacy has become an important part of the curriculum throughout the state.
The legislation I authored helped bring the issue of financial literacy to the forefront letting policy makers at a variety of levels see the need to improve what students know about money management. In 2006, Wisconsin became the first state to develop and implement content standards for personal finance classes in our schools. These standards define what students should know and be able to do with regards to credit, debt, savings and money management. As a member of the Standards Development Council I worked closely with the Department of Public Instruction to develop the standards that are in our schools.
The Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy is comprised of 25 members with William Wilcox, President of the CBM Credit Education Foundation, serving as the chair of the council. I worked with Bill on this issue when I was in the state assembly and have been impressed with his genuine dedication to improving the financial literacy skills of children and adults. In addition to Bill, the council will be led by the Commissioner of Insurance and the Secretary of the Department of Financial Institutions. The council members include representatives from education, banks, credit unions, credit counseling agencies and businesses.
The council’s task is to measurably improve financial literacy among Wisconsin citizens. To begin with, the council will focus on:
- Developing and implementing a program to provide employers with tools that efficiently help employees measurably increase their financial literacy.
- Growing the statewide financial literacy awareness and education campaign entitled Money Smart Week Wisconsin by increasing the number of communities and participants involved.
- Expanding financial literacy teacher-training opportunities by working collaboratively with the Department of Public Instruction, the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, Wisconsin’s National Institute of Financial and Economic Literacy and other partners to measure the number of students being taught.
- Convening a summit on financial literacy with defined deliverables to improve financial literacy in Wisconsin.
Consider these facts: more than 55% of Wisconsinites live paycheck to paycheck, spending at least all that they earn and often spending more. 57% of state residents do not have an emergency fund of at least three months income. In this regard, Wisconsinites are better off than the rest of the country, but only by a few percentage points. To top it off, the average American household with a credit card has a balance of more than $10,000. These facts point to the clear need to improve financial literacy.
If you have any questions about any of the information I have included or if you have suggestions on other topics or issues you would like learn more about, you may call my office toll-free at (800) 991-5541; write me at P.O. Box 7882, Madison, WI 53708; or e-mail me at: Sen.Olsen@legis.state.wi.us. You can also sign up for our newsletter at our website:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/sen14/news/index.htm .