GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Wisconsin high school students could soon be required to take a class on personal finance.
A Republican bill would make a lesson in financial literacy a requirement for high school graduation in Wisconsin. Oconto Assemblyman Elijah Behnke thinks it’s a great idea.
“I’ve always worked really, really hard. I love working 80 hours a week. But it doesn’t matter how much you work. If you don’t know how to spend it, save it, or invest it, you’re never going to get ahead,” Behnke told WTAQ News. “This legislation is demanding for high school students [ to have ] either a half-credit or a whole credit. So instead of it being an elective, it’s mandated. And I think that’s a great idea…I want the hard-working younger generation to get ahead in life and not fall behind.”
While many schools across the state already teach financial literacy, Behnke points out that many of those classes are not comprehensive, and don’t go into a lot of detail about things that could help students build wealth in the real world.
“There’s balancing a checkbook in 8th or 9th grade, and that’s about it. No investments, no how does currency work, no federal reserve, just the big picture. There’s no our currency versus the world’s currency. I mean, maybe a comment here or there, but it was never a whole semester,” Behnke said. “It is the basics. So from banking, they should tour banks and sit down the banker. This legislation is going to help good honest teachers do their job and give the kids the best education to approach the real world…I do think it should be bipartisan. I think this is very important.”
Behnke says the concept would pre-emptively attack the issue of 18-year-olds quickly falling behind and getting into substantial debt with no way out.
“I think getting a credit card at 18, it’s almost child abuse. To get 18-24% on a credit card, they rack up a couple thousand, and they can barely make the payment,” Behnke said. “Honestly, I was one of those 18-year-olds. I made a lot of mistakes at 18 and had to dig my way out.”
Even in his own office, Behnke is noticing trends with younger people making questionable financial decisions.
“They might try, but they make the mistake of buying a very nice car. So they have a fancier car than me – I’m 38, they’re 19 – so a better education maybe would minimize that a little bit. You should drive a dumpster until you can pay cash for a nicer car,” Behnke said.
You can find and read the bill in it’s entirety on the Wisconsin Legislature’s website.
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