To the editor: Economics professor Aine Seitz McCarthy says Americans ought to retake Econ 101. Reading her piece, I think she ought to take it herself.
Expanding the money supply causes inflation. What else would one expect from the succession of major spending bills that came from this administration and increased the national debt to more than $36 trillion?
McCarthy proposes government spending increases on social welfare programs. So where does the money come from? Either you tax for it or borrow it. Interest payments on the national debt now total more than $1 trillion yearly.
At the rate our debt is increasing, programs will have to be cut or taxes raised, and not just on the rich. Taking money out of the economy in this way will lead to reduced economic activity and a lower standard of living for everyone.
Ronald A. Rosien, Los Angeles
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To the editor: The voting majority of the United States would have truly benefited from understanding the economic concepts described by McCarthy if it cared about facts and truth.
Voters showed, however, they would rather be emotionally cajoled by a circus barker presidential candidate than moving forward with a government that cares about the environment, the Constitution, education and affordable living conditions.
They would’ve failed Econ 101 because they were too busy looking out the window at the clown juggler outside falsely promising more fun stuff.
Linda Bradshaw Carpenter, Los Angeles
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To the editor: McCarthy seems to be lecturing the public while not at all understanding people’s lived, everyday experiences with skyrocketing costs.
This professor goes on and on about tax credits, subsidies, money supply and various other issues. She writes as if she has never set foot in a Target or a grocery store and seen prices jump sky high since the pandemic. Even those of us who are not struggling economically notice it.
Vice President Kamala Harris mentioned corporate greed a lot in her stump speeches. Even though President-elect Donald Trump didn’t, his plainspoken acknowledgment of people’s frustrations with prices appealed to voters more than the Democrats’ more nuanced but slightly out-of-touch rhetoric.
I voted for Harris and was encouraged that she mentioned corporate greed quite a bit on the campaign trail. But that message has not been adopted by many others unfortunately, including McCarthy. It’s such a glaring oversight.
Jennifer Swoboda, Long Beach
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To the editor: McCarthy’s idea of teaching Econ 101 would not prepare students for the workplace.
A national study earlier this year by the Milwaukee financial services company Northwestern Mutual revealed that 45% of adults considered themselves “disciplined” financial planners, down from 65% in 2020. I have met millennials who have never heard of compound interest.
In 2004, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rejected a bill requiring financial planning to be taught before high school graduation because he felt students received adequate financial training in an economics course.
Learning supply-and-demand dynamics in an economics course won’t teach students the following: how to make a budget, the importance of saving early, lease-buy analysis, how to analyze a company for investment purposes and what type of retirement account to start.
David Bach, Sacramento
The writer is a financial literacy consultant.
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To the editor: I enjoyed McCarthy’s op-ed piece. I’m retired and have a master’s in finance from UCLA. Still, her erudite rationale did contain some words and phrases I wasn’t familiar with.
Equally important to “what” we’d like to communicate are “how” we communicate and “where” we communicate. I believe that in these times, young voters need direct, simple concepts delivered through social media from compelling sources.
Classroom education is a wonderful thing, but many voters still need to be reminded by sources they trust that voting for candidates with actual policies that best serve their interests is essential to getting what they need from society.
Sadly, overcoming hype and negative messaging is an art that our responsible media and progressive voices have not even begun to master, as demonstrated by the election results.
Philip Solomita, Palos Verdes Estates
