Economic Literacy Quotes

It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.' But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.

It is a misfortune of the times that all of us must needs be amateur economists-including, and perhaps especially, the professionals.

A citizen who casts his ballot without having to the best of his abilities studied as much economics as he can fails in his civic duties.

When you grow up in America today, most schools don't teach you about money and investing. You could literally take a class in woodshop or auto in high school and not take a class on money.

Most Americans don't know enough about basic economics to fill out one fortune cookie.

To the economically illiterate, if some company makes a million dollars in profit, this means that their products cost a million dollars more than they would have without profits. It never occurs to such people that these products might cost several million dollars more without the incentives to be efficient created by the prospect of profits.

Asking liberals where wages and prices come from is like asking six-year-olds where babies come from.

Maybe we should teach schoolchildren probability theory and investment risk management.

Whether we like it or not, it is a fact that economics cannot remain an esoteric branch of knowledge accessible only to small groups of scholars and specialists. Economics deals with society's fundamental problems; it concerns everyone and belongs to all. It is the main and proper study of every citizen.

The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.

Thousands of important and intelligent men have never been able to grasp the principle of comparative advantage or believe it even after it was explained to them

You read [Bill ] Maher's book, and he didn't take Econ 101. All his arguments about gasoline, it's not that they're right or wrong - they're just not informed.

High bankruptcy rates, increased credit card debt, and identity theft make it imperative that all of us take an active role in providing financial and economic education during all stages of one's life.

Today, in the Twenty-First Century, an age of jet aircraft, personal computers, wireless telecommunications, laser surgery, and incipient space travel, the mentality with which many presumably educated, intelligent people approach matters of economics and business is, however astonishing it may seem, still that of the Dark Ages.

Why does a public discussion of economic policy so often show the abysmal ignorance of the participants?

The education system should teach us about money; it's an incredibly big subject. I run into people all the time that don't have the first clue of what they should do about money.

In my opinion, the United States and many Western nations have a financial disaster coming, caused by our educational system’s failure to adequately provide a realistic financial education program for students.

However, I have a low opinion of people with narrow political horizons. Someone who talks about the environment and knows nothing about economics can make as many mistakes as someone who does the opposite.

I can't think of a president who has been overburdened by a knowledge of economics.

Financial literacy is just as important in life as the other basics.

This dilettantish inability to comprehend the essential issues of the conduct of production affairs is not only manifested in the writings of Marx and Engels. It permeates no less the contributions of contemporary pseudo-economics.

There's a great lack of financial literacy and understanding in this nation, even among college-educated people.

What makes it [economics] most fascinating is that its fundamental principles are so simple that they can be written on one page, that anyone can understand them, and yet very few do.

I can't stand the idea of being demagogued: that is, put down by a president who has never created any jobs and who doesn't even understand how the economy works.

I moved from current affairs to daily news over the Asia crisis of 1998 - mainly because the news agenda demanded I become economically literate.