Gov. Ron DeSantis is on a Mission to Promote Financial Literacy Throughout Florida

Florida governor Ron DeSantis recently made a bold, and frankly, much needed addition to the Florida public school system curriculum by signing Senate Bill 1054, titled the Dorothy L. Hukill Financial Literacy Act, which will require high school students to take a financial literacy course to receive a high school diploma starting in the 2023-2024 school year.

“Financial literacy is an important life skill for a student to have,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Ensuring our students have the skills to manage their finances and perhaps one day own a business will pay dividends for our state. I am proud to sign this bill to support the future of Florida’s students and ultimately their families and communities.”

While the exact details of the curriculum are still being developed by the Florida Department of Education, this move is both refreshing and long overdue. Especially when you consider that a tremendous number of Americans simply do not understand financial topics, but falsely believe they do. In fact, only 57% of adults are financially literate, according to the Milken Institute. This explains support among that segment of our population for concepts like socialism, student loan forgiveness, and increased taxation.

The unfortunate reality is that our public school systems today simply do not teach much in the way of real life skills. That’s a great disservice to our students, and it also has a disastrous effect on the economy and society as a whole. It’s that financial illiteracy that leads to people making poor financial choices which obviously impact them and their families directly, but also have a negative impact on local communities, states, and even the nation as a whole.

The average American has $90,460 in debt, according to a 2021 CNBC report. That included all types of consumer debt products, from credit cards to personal loans, mortgages and student debt. The average amount of debt, broken down by generation in 2020, was:

• Gen Z (ages 18 to 23): $16,043
• Millennials (ages 24 to 39): $87,448
• Gen X (ages 40 to 55): $140,643
• Baby boomers (ages 56 to 74): $97,290
• Silent generation (ages 75 and above): $41,281

And it’s only gotten worse since then, and as the economy worsens, it will continue to get worse.

I remember financial literacy being taught in our schools before our education system went completely off the rails. Home economics, which included a range of topics like nutrition, self improvement, and personal finance, was once a required class for American students. This helped prepare them for the real world by teaching them how to make a budget, balance a checkbook, live within their means, and make other sound, financially responsible decisions. But that has been ignored for decades, resulting in generations of financially illiterate citizens. 

Now, I could speculate that this was part of the plan all along. After all, voters who don’t know any better are more likely to vote for politicians who make unfair and unsustainable promises, like student loan forgiveness, for example. Particularly when they think it will benefit them directly. 

They make silly statements like, “Well, I deserve it! Why should I have to pay back my loans when the government spends so much on the military?” 

Because these people have been miseducated, they truly believe that the government’s job is to hand out goodies to citizens like a lonely retiree passing out candy to every kid dressed up as Iron Man or Princess Elsa on Halloween. 

They don’t understand that they’re still paying for it while also forcing others to help pick up the tab, and it’s all hidden in their tax bill and executed through the most inefficient intermediary in the world—the US government. Add to that their unbridled sense of entitlement and you can see that a perfect storm has been brewing for decades while most responsible adults were busy working, running businesses, and being contributing members of society.

Programs like the one being implemented by the DeSantis administration will become even more important as we continue to face growing inflation, economic uncertainty, and other financial challenges over the coming years—all driven by the flawed economic policies that are cheered on by the financially illiterate. 

Noted financial expert, Carol Roth, said, “Financial literacy education is a stepping stone to wealth creation and economic freedom. Understanding basic concepts, like evaluating return on investment, can help students decide if a specific college or degree is right for them. Financial literacy can create lifetime disciplines of delayed gratification and investing, which helps individuals to build long-term wealth. Plus, it means more young individuals holding the government responsible for their reckless overspending.”

This program is literally a lifeline, and I predict that several other states will follow suit.

Unfortunately, it’s going to take considerable time to reverse course, because in the same way that it took decades for the nation to get to this point, it will also likely take decades for the nation to become proficient in these topics and build the discipline to adhere to sound financial principles.

As Americans begin to better understand financial topics, they will make better financial decisions, which creates more prosperity and stability, both in the short term and in the long term. This means people live within their means and are less susceptible to financial ups and downs, workers become more productive and make more money, businesses become more profitable, and more families begin accumulating greater generational wealth. In other words, everyone wins.

While the curriculum is currently still in development, according to Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, students will be required to earn one-half credit in personal financial literacy and money management, including instruction on types of bank accounts, credit scores, taxes, and managing debt. 

He says, “As Florida’s CFO and the father of two, I’ve seen firsthand the importance of teaching our kids financial literacy at a young age. It’s critical we set Florida students up for financial success and thank you to Governor DeSantis for signing this important measure to ensure vital financial literacy resources are available to Florida students. Financial literacy is an important key to a strong financial future and I’m proud that learning the basics of credit, budgeting, savings, and investing will now be taught throughout Florida’s schools. These lessons are also critical to training future generations of Americans to appreciate America’s capitalist system and grow our nation’s pool of entrepreneurs. Thank you to Senator Hutson and Representative Busatta Cabrera for their hard work on getting this legislation passed and setting students up for success in and out of the classroom.”

Based on conversations with board members of the Florida Department of Education, it will likely span far beyond this and will continue to evolve with changes in the economy because rather than relying on academics to create this curriculum, they’re relying on financial experts who live and breathe financial topics every day.

This legislation builds on Commissioner Corcoran’s work to eliminate Common Core and implement B.E.S.T. Standards for Math, standards that now embed financial literacy strands in ninth through 12th grades. Common Core did not include financial literacy for any grade level and this legislation will solidify Florida’s comprehensive commitment to our students’ future success. It also builds on a long list of achievements in education that Florida has made since 2019.

I see this legislation as an example of true leadership and a powerful investment into both our future generations and society as a whole, and it’s yet another reason I am proud to call Ron DeSantis our governor.