r/FluentInFinance • u/AdFar3727 • 3d ago
People in this sub Discussion/ Debate
Why are there so many people who couldn’t get a C- in high school personal finance in a sub that is called fluent in finance?
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u/O_oBetrayedHeretic 3d ago
Social media my dude. Everyone is an expert on here
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u/MiddleClassGuru 3d ago
I’m also an expert on fitness, war strategy, middle east geopolitics and feminism.
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u/stump2003 3d ago edited 3d ago
You also forgot that you are a masterclass at humbleness. I see you running around, just humble AF.
Edit: I figured this was sarcastic enough to not need the /s, oh well!
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u/circusfreakrob 2d ago
sadly, there is no level of "super duper obvious f^%king sarcasm" that is a high enough level for many people to STILL have it go right over their heads.
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u/I_love_stapler 3d ago
Oooof, I have degrees in Poli Sci and Accounting, I also do CrossFit/Olympic lifting. Ill go back to eating crayons lol
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u/nope-nope-nope-nop 3d ago
Im an expert of leaving the empty box of popsicles in the freezer after I take the last one.
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u/Garuda4321 2d ago
I got a cease and desist from the courts because “you can not be a lawyer using a cereal box certificate”.
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u/policypolido 2d ago
Also Reddit trends young and left, a terrible combination for personal financial accountability
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u/unlock0 3d ago
Some are coming for help.
Some are unknowingly lucky.
Some are delusional.
Some are political shills.
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u/theunclescrooge 3d ago
So much political bs!! 😡
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u/Connect_Bat_1290 3d ago
The political people ruin everything. It doesn’t matter what side those they are on, they are then worst.
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u/BornAd7924 3d ago
How can you possibly discuss money or finance without talking politics? The entire financial conversation IS politics.
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u/VortexMagus 3d ago
I agree! The core of politics is the allocation and distribution of resources. It's central to any discussion of the economy.
A lot of people want to slam their heads into the sand and pretend that housing, taxes, interest rates, and trade are not affected at all by politics, but they're just wrong.
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u/BornAd7924 3d ago
People love to avoid the fact that even having the idea of a “free market”, getting paid money, spending money, the very existence of money are all political policies and choices. The opposite of that is true too, the idea of a barter based society, a utopian society where class and money don’t exist, all of it, EVERYTHING is politics. That’s what a society is.
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u/Lumpy_Taste3418 1d ago
Tell me you know less than nothing about finance without saying I know less than nothing about finance.
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u/BornAd7924 1d ago edited 1d ago
Tell me you know nothing, while also telling me you know nothing at all….
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u/Lumpy_Taste3418 1d ago
tell me you nothing
You will need to become fluent in English, before you can talk about Finance in English.
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u/HowsTheBeef 3d ago
For real get finance out of our politics so we can talk about finance without worrying about if we are supporting fascism by doing so
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u/Worth_Plastic5684 3d ago
And the same for math, and physics, and poetry. Every single discussion about every single subject from here on until the end of time must be a single, continuous screech about abortion, the border and Islam. Anything less is moral bankruptcy.
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u/AgentMichaelScarn_1 3d ago
Because rich people bad. If you have a positive net worth you are bad too!
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u/VortexMagus 3d ago
"socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires."
Your post reminded me exactly of this quote LMAO. And I'm not even socialist - I'm a libertarian. I'm just capable of thoughts of my own without gargling Elon Musk's jizz like you.
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u/frost666 3d ago
A proper libright would literally never post that quote lol
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u/VortexMagus 3d ago
Bullshit. A proper libertarian prefers market solutions but will absolutely use the government to solve problems that a market will never fix.
A proper libertarian doesn't worship the ground our billionaires walk on, he recognizes that in a properly competitive free market there's no shot they get so heavily overpaid since the value of their labor isn't even a fraction of their compensation.
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u/frost666 2d ago
but will absolutely use the government to solve problems that a market will never fix.
In your scenario "capitalism" is the problem and "socialism" is the proposed solution.
I'd wager you'd have a hard time rallying modern American Libertarians around that. Obviously political alignment encompasses a broad spectrum of idealogy so perhaps ultimately we're just describing different things entirely - but I have a hard time imagining gun-toting tax haters parading around with their snake flag demanding more socialist government policies.
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u/VortexMagus 2d ago
In your scenario "capitalism" is the problem and "socialism" is the proposed solution.
Sure, but from that perspective roads, water, and electricity are all "socialist" too, right? It's the government paying for outcomes that no market would create. Private industries surely couldn't afford to build and maintain a national road network so clearly we have to fall into the socialist trap of having the government pay for it.
Private industries might be able to build and maintain a power network in large cities but moving it out to the country would be severely inefficient - there wouldn't be any profit due to the incredibly low population density relative to the amount of work to be done. The government basically paid to ensure that our farmers get water and electricity the way everybody else does, even when the market is not favorable to this outcome - pure socialism no?
If you think libertarians hate public roads and the electrical grid I think you are sadly misinformed.
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u/Sidvicieux 3d ago
Because fellating corporations good. If you don’t you are rich people bad.
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u/90swasbest 3d ago
Don't be a douche.
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u/Nojopar 3d ago
But they ain't wrong.
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u/90swasbest 3d ago
They are extremely wrong. You don't want to improve your life, you just want everyone else to be as bad off as you are.
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u/HowsTheBeef 3d ago
Well I don't need my life to be better but there are a lot of people that need my quality of life. So yeah I guess I do want everyone to be as well off as me
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u/No-End-5332 3d ago
there are a lot of people that need my quality of life
They're going to have to work towards that then.
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u/HowsTheBeef 3d ago
They are not as good as me. They can't. It's not their fault, but they don't make the cut.
I still don't want them to suffer more than me. Them having to struggle just because they are worse at the social game we invented is an insane idea. Like sociopathic. They should have it easier than me because I can carry more. Nobody gets to rest just because they are the strongest. Everyone has to keep pushing, especially the strongest.
Money's love for itself has ruined your concept of economic purpose. We are not here to miser over what people deserve. We are working so that we can ensure our collective survival. Letting people starve does not comply with that directive.
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u/mx5plus2cones 3d ago edited 3d ago
Actually, the problem is they usually don't teach personal finance in a public school because it's perceived as crossing "family values". The argument I heard goes if Little Billy comes home and says "daddy/mommy, Ms. Smith taught us that it's terrible to be paying $20/month on a 25%APR credit card carrying a $4000 balance every month"....then many mommy and daddy might get offended and take it personally , because it describes their situation and some parents would think it's crossing the lines.... (why is a public school teacher telling my kid how I should run our household finances ) no different than if little Billy came home and talked about Christianity, Buddism , or Isalm.....or why many parents have an issue with schools talking about every other sensitive topics (sexuality, transgender, etc).
On the other hand, if your kid goes to a private school or a charter school, that could be a condition of admission ... If you don't like the material , then get the f out of the school and go elsewhere...
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u/Fausterion18 3d ago edited 3d ago
They don't teach personal finance in school because over the past few decades the public school system had its curriculum taken over and dictated by people who believe in a liberal arts college education for every child should be the goal of every K-12 school.
So they stripped out everything that didn't prepare for that. Anything that wans't preparing for college was removed. Even PE was getting cut in many schools.
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u/VortexMagus 2d ago
Schools don't strip curriculum because they want to, they strip it because of budget cuts. My middle school had a home economics class that everybody had to take which taught very practical skills like cooking, and a woodworking class that everybody could optionally take which taught very practical repair and crafting skills, and both of those eventually got cut not because of any particular agenda with the school board, but because they were running out of money to keep core programs working.
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u/Fausterion18 2d ago
Completely untrue. I personally experienced life skills classes being removed whilst the budget massively increased due to special state funding.
It has nothing to do with school board agenda, this is on a national level. The people who set the curriculum, focus and overall direction of the public school system are almost entirely liberal arts educated teaching professionals who believe that every child should have a liberal arts college education and thus geared the entire K-12 system towards college prep.
This is encouraged by various metrics like standardized testing and college admission rates as well as the parents themselves.
Over the course of a few decades we've basically turned the entire school system from one that taught a lot of trade and practical skills to nothing but college prep.
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u/NumbersOverFeelings 3d ago
I agree. And adding that parents don’t take on the role of helping educate their children or even exposing them to personal finance either.
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u/Vladtepesx3 3d ago
??? You think the school system is run by fiscal conservatives?
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u/mx5plus2cones 2d ago
Oh please this happened long before and doesn't matter who is in charge. Look what's happening in the south ... The priority for Louisiana School district is to require teachers to teach from the Bible.... The last time I checked, the Bible has nothing about paying off your credit card. And the other state that is requiring the 10 commandments to be displayed in every classroom. I bet most of you aren't even Christian and haven't even read the Bible at will. ... Pretty soon, they probably will start teaching about creationism and jettison complete science classes because science and math is "woke". And then we will have a brand new generation of uneducated bumpkins for the red party similar to all the welfare kings and queens for the blue party. Awesome! Keep them stupid , keep them dependent on the government. Works for me. Not my problem.
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u/PromptStock5332 3d ago
Ah yes, public education… a sector of society where conservatives are famously overrepesented and in control…?
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u/mx5plus2cones 2d ago
Oh please this happened long before and doesn't matter who is in charge. Look what's happening in the south ... The priority for Louisiana School district is to require teachers to teach from the Bible.... The last time I checked, the Bible has nothing about paying off your credit card. And the other state that is requiring the 10 commandments to be displayed in every classroom. I bet most of you aren't even Christian and haven't even read the Bible at will. ... Pretty soon, they probably will start teaching about creationism and jettison complete science classes because science and math is "woke". And then we will have a brand new generation of uneducated bumpkins for the red party similar to all the welfare kings and queens for the blue party. Awesome! Keep them stupid , keep them dependent on the government. Works for me. Not my problem.
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u/HaiKarate 3d ago
Personal finance != business finance != government finance
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u/AdFar3727 3d ago
And the people I’m talking about are ignorant of all of those subjects
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u/sphericaltime 3d ago
The easiest way to distinguish is to see if they know that there is a difference between those things.
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u/FillMySoupDumpling 3d ago
As soon as I hear someone talk about all gov deficits as bad or “if I have to tighten my belt so does the government “, it’s an instant tell they aren’t going to reasonably talk about gov finance.
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u/Feeling_Buy_4640 3d ago
Name one economic school of thought that says we should spend like there is no tomorrow and rack up all this debt.
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u/FillMySoupDumpling 3d ago
Yes, you’ve illustrated it perfectly!!
Complex economic concepts = so you’re saying spend all the money to those people. Like no understanding of nuance or anything.
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u/Feeling_Buy_4640 3d ago
I see there is none.
Therefore, the statement, "its bad to have such a massive(in proportion to gdp) defficit" is correct.
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u/FillMySoupDumpling 3d ago
Idk buddy, I never said any of that and you came in asking for something we all know doesn’t exist.
You’re coming up with whatever it is you’re imagining I said and then getting mad about it. I can’t help you.
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u/Feeling_Buy_4640 3d ago
Okay, so when people kvetch about the national debt, it might be simplistic in their understanding but you dismissing their opinions based upon being a bit simple is rather simple minded. Some how, I feel like you merely add to the nonsense here.
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u/Jumping_Brindle 3d ago
Everyone is a genius behind the mask of anonymity.
Also, people think they are crusading by posting memes endorsing their preferred political party.
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u/RoyaleWCheese_OK 3d ago
Crusade all they want but it wont improve their intelligence. It seems on both sides the more radical they are, the lower their IQ. Maybe that's why they're so mad all the time.
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u/weedandbrews5280 3d ago
I turned 1$ into 1,000,000 see this chart?’ 📈
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u/Longhorn7779 3d ago
I think you need to rotate your chart 90 degrees to the right.
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u/weedandbrews5280 3d ago
😂
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u/Lumpy_Taste3418 1d ago
I tuned $5 into 100,000,000,000,000.
They were Zimbabwe dollars, but you know, there is always a catch somewhere.
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u/DuckTalesOohOoh 3d ago
Why did Communists have to kill so many people to try to make it work?
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u/Lumpy_Taste3418 1d ago
Because the state pension couldn't cover the retirement costs. If they had invested in an index fund, it would have all worked out.
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u/mx5plus2cones 3d ago
Well China is CINO.. Communist in name only... They are probably worse capitalist pigs than we are where they have even less rules... They kinda proved communism doesn't really work. 🤣
I'm surprised some Americans here haven't learned from the lessons of others.
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u/VortexMagus 3d ago
This argument always made me laugh. Capitalism has killed way more people. WW1 was started by capitalist nations, against capitalist nations, and tens of millions died in the battlefield. The nazi party were right-wing capitalists who hated communism. They privatized a bunch of state industries and tossed millions of people into concentration camps.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's overall a better way to structure society than communism, but it's not because there's less blood. In fact there's almost definitely more blood.
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u/Vladtepesx3 3d ago
Not a single one of those things were because of capitalism. Thats like saying it was caused by drinking water because all of the parties involved drank water
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u/Lorn_Muunk 3d ago
Reducing the discussion on communism and capitalism to a body count contest is strange. Lumping the various factions involved in the start of WW1 under the same label of "capitalist" as well. The Austro-Hungarian Compromise, Serbia, the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, Germany and France were not monolithic entities motivated primarily by the same capitalist greed. Gavrilo Princip was not exactly a stache twirling capitalist robber baron. Nationalism, monarchy, ethnicity and previous wars all played into it.
Just the origin story of communism, the Russian Revolution and civil war, killed twice as many people (~12 million) as the nazis exterminated in concentration camps. War communism, lysenkoism, collectivization and rapid industrialization were deliberately implemented in the name of communism. This caused the famine of 1921. Another 5 to 10 million dead. Then there was Stalin's famine of 1930-1933. ~4 million Ukrainians, ~3 million Russians, ~1 million Kazakhs. The Great Leap Forwards by Mao? ~36 million. About as much as all of the WW1 dead. Sergey Karaganov's delusions directly inspired Putin to annex Crimea and start the war in Ukraine. Conflating all these atrocities under a single label isn't an accurate representation of communism. The same goes for stating that capitalism caused WW1 and WW2. Labeling the nazi party as anti-communist and capitalist becomes difficult when you consider that Stalin supported and joined Hitler's invasion of Poland. 7 years of economic negotiation between the commies and the capitalists resulted in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. That doesn't mean communism caused WW2.
If we want to attribute an amount of lives to the economic system, we shouldn't stop at ze Germans. The system of public companies, stock trading, partial state-ownership, free trade for profit and government regulation is capitalism. The greedy, immoral pillaging of the planet for profit is still causing immense destruction, suffering and inequality. It also gave rise to the Enlightenment, the scientific method, the free exchange of new ideas, secular democracy and an incentive to innovate better than the competition. This directly resulted in sanitation, electric lights, optics, pest control, the germ theory of disease, genetics, vaccines, antibiotics, food supplements, insurance, surgical interventions, perinatal care, global technological cooperation, modified / enriched crops and the Haber-Bosch process. Does that mean capitalism saved billions of lives and is therefore less bloodthirsty than communism?
That Fritz Haber guy is a good example of how messy this always gets. It is estimated that a third of annual global food production uses ammonia from the Haber process. His work directly saved like 3 billion people. He also invented and advocated for the use of chemical weapons like chlorine gas during WW1. His work was used to develop Zyklon B, the pesticide with which millions of jews were exterminated in gas chambers. Haber himself was Jewish. Capitalist? Communist? Evil? Good? Who the fuck knows, all I know is it's never that simple.
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u/DuckTalesOohOoh 2d ago
It is simple. Where is human progress today with freedom, democracy and capitalism vs no freedom, no democracy, and no capitalism?
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u/Optimal-Scientist233 3d ago
Why are there so many people alive who could not get a C- in being a decent human being?
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u/EfficientDoggo 3d ago
Occupy Wallstreet anti rich bashing takes less mental energy to process and is more socially appealing to people with low attention spans than real economics.
People seem to forget that economics is not about punishing people.
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u/bigbuffdaddy1850 3d ago
This should be called fluent in jealousy...or fluent in socialism....or fluent in communism... Or fluent in apathy....Or zero fluency in finance so please help
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u/Le_Turtle_God 3d ago
Because everyone on the Internet thinks they’re an intellectual and post things that can be debunked by five minutes of searching on Google
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u/Think-Culture-4740 3d ago
Forget finance. There is an alarming amount of economic illiteracy out here. Just shockingly poor understanding of even basic things like supply and demand.
You learn after your first macroeconomics class how important savings and investment is to economic growth and yet all we hear about are the evil billionaires parking their money in stocks and other investment vehicles and all the damage that supposedly that does to humanity.
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u/SpacedBasedLaser 3d ago
C- in high school personal finance
lol, they taught you personal finance in HS?
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u/Lumpy_Taste3418 1d ago
No, but I considered how much it cost me to rent vs to own, and I then got an A+ on the final exam.
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u/Vast_Cricket Mod 3d ago
Good question. As mod I can not get them off the sub stating they did not break the rule. Some were very rude and call others with the f word.
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u/Vladtepesx3 3d ago
Most of them are dumbass socialists who think they are smart, so the lack of success means the system is not fair, because it is the only way to reconcile their own failure without acknowledging they're just dumb
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