Fixing the Financial Literacy Crisis in Our Schools

Q: What’s the biggest "real-world" challenge you’re facing that you feel unprepared for?

Liam: Honestly, taxes and credit scores. It feels like this huge, scary secret adults know that they won't tell you. I got my first official paycheck from the Market Basket in my town, where I work, and after the hours of hard work, I saw this chunk of money disappear from federal and state taxes. I asked my boss, and he just shrugged and said, "That's how it is." I mean I spent 12 years in public school, and I spent approximately zero minutes on where my hard-earned money actually goes. It's annoying.

Q: How does that connect to the legislative system for you?

Liam: Because the system is designed to be confusing so you just give up and pay whatever, or you make an innocent mistake and face penalties you can't afford. I’m about to go to college, and everyone talks about student loans like they’re an inevitable, generational curse. I look at the loan papers, and they have all these rules about the interest, like, if I can't pay, the interest just keeps getting added to the main bill, making the total go up super fast. And if I miss a payment, there are these crazy fees. I tried watching YouTube videos, but none of them explained the actual legal framework. It feels like the legislature creates complex laws that benefit the loan providers, not the students. The underlying laws for borrowing and debt are still a mess. It makes me feel completely vulnerable at 18.

Q: What's one change you wish lawmakers would make?

Liam: I wish there were a class or something tied to high school graduation. We should all be forced to take classes on budgeting, how to read a basic contract, what a credit report means, and how to file a tax return using the actual forms. I feel like I speak for everyone when I say that it’s so scary becoming an adult and not knowing what to do with your finances.

Liam’s frustration with taxes, credit scores, and student loans reveals a much bigger issue: young people are graduating high school without even the most basic financial literacy. His first paycheck showed him that taxes are a mystery, loan contracts feel predatory, and that credit rules are impossible to decipher without proper guidance. Our education system leaves students financially vulnerable at exactly the moment they need the most support. Lawmakers should require a comprehensive financial literacy course, covering taxes, credit, budgeting, and loan obligations, as a prerequisite for graduation, so that every student enters adulthood equipped to take on financial responsibilities.