Paul B. Farrell: Financial literacy is a big, fat Wall Street hoax

[marmar]

By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch


SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — Financial-literacy programs are getting popular again. Warning: They don’t work. Maybe for 7% of us. But for the rest of Americans, they are a big waste of your time, and your money.

Financial-literacy programs reveal a subtle lesson in behavioral economics brainwashing. Why? Your brain is irrational, you can’t rewire or reprogram it. But Wall Street can. They have seven clever ways to turn your irrational behavior against you, to manipulate you, to siphon off your money. Listen closely:

Even with the best-of-intentions, financial-literacy programs like Jump$tart, RichFitUSA, long-time APCPA accountancy programs, and the President’s Council on Financial Literacy will never work. Never. Want proof? Just think about the past decade: Factor in the 2000 dot-com crash, the 30-month recession, the 2008 meltdown and guess what: On an inflation-adjusted basis Wall Street lost 20% of America’s retirement money in the 2000-2010 decade. And they’ll do it again.

Get it? Financial literacy is a cruel joke Wall Street insiders keep playing on investors, local governments, school systems, Congress and the President. Here’s the problem why even the best-of-intention programs will never (yes, never) work: They assume, erroneously, the human brain can retrain itself to make rational decisions about investing, finance and budgeting. But that’s impossible. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/financial-literacy-is-a-big-fat-wall-street-hoax-2011-11-08?link=home_carousel

[Karenina]

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