California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 39

Introduced by Assembly Member Dababneh

February 27, 2015

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 39—Relative to Financial Aid and Literacy Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 39, as introduced, Dababneh. Financial Aid and Literacy Month.

This measure would declare the month of April 2015 as Financial Aid and Literacy Month, with the theme of “Financial Wellness: A Family Affair,” to raise public awareness about the continuing need for increased financial literacy.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The President’s Advisory Council on Financial
Capability urges the integration of personal finance into the
teaching of math and English language arts common core academic
content standards for K-12 education as well as other subjects;
and

WHEREAS, California law requires that financial education,
including budgeting, managing credit, student loans, consumer
debt, and identity theft security, is included in the next revision of
the social sciences, health, and mathematics curricula; and

WHEREAS, In Junior Achievement’s 2014 Teens and Personal
Finance Survey, 77 percent of male teens and 63 percent of female
teens 16 to 18 years of age said they do not keep track of their
money; and

WHEREAS, Eighty-five percent of American parents believe
that financial education courses should be a requirement for high
school graduation and 52 percent of teenagers want to learn more
about budgeting, saving, and investing; and

WHEREAS, According to a poll by Northeastern University’s
Innovation Imperative Initiative, more than 80 percent of students
16 to 19 years of age believe obtaining a college degree is
important to having a career, but 67 percent are worried they will
not be able to afford college; and

WHEREAS, In Sallie Mae’s “How America Saves for College
2014,” the proportion of families saving for college declined during
the recession from 62 percent in 2009 to 50 percent in 2013; and

WHEREAS, The total average savings for higher education is
$15,346, which is up from $11,781 in 2014; and

WHEREAS, In 2014, student loan debt soared by more than 11
percent; and

WHEREAS, When it comes to where families put money, more
parents use a general savings account (45 percent in 2014,
compared with 42 percent in 2013) than any other method of
saving, ahead of a 529 plan (29 percent in 2014, compared with
27 percent in 2013) and a checking account (24 percent in 2014,
compared with 27 percent in 2013); and

WHEREAS, Only 40 percent of adults keep a budget and track
their spending, 75 percent of American families say they live
paycheck to paycheck, and more than 25 percent of American
families have no savings at all; and

WHEREAS, Statistics compiled by LearnVest and Chase
Blueprint show that for Americans 45 to 54 years of age, the
median saved for retirement is only $101,000, and 38 percent of
adults are concerned about being able to retire on time; and

WHEREAS, Only 5 percent of adults say they were taught about
money by a teacher, and 40 percent would give themselves Cs,
Ds, or Fs on their grasp of personal finance concepts; and

WHEREAS, Twenty-five percent of adults do not think any
amount of debt is manageable, and 45 percent said that they could
only handle debt payments of $100 a month; and

WHEREAS, Nearly 67 percent of adults are concerned about
being able to get a job, 60 percent expressed concern about having
enough money as adults, and nearly 33 percent said college costs
are “not worth it” and that the “costs will outweigh the benefits”;
and

WHEREAS, According to the Federal Reserve, the total United
States outstanding consumer debt, including car and student loans
as well as revolving debt, was $3.24 trillion as of July 2014; and

WHEREAS, Collectively, American consumers owe $11.52
trillion to lenders and creditors and the debt burden is continuing
to increase; and

WHEREAS, According to CreditCards.com, the average credit
card debt per American adult, excluding zero-balance cards and
store cards, is $4,878.43; and

WHEREAS, The average interest rate paid on credit card
balances is over 13 percent annual percentage rate (APR); and

WHEREAS, Children as young as five years old have shown
an increase in depression and anxiety stemming from their parents’
unemployment and financial problems; and

WHEREAS, Children whose families endured financial
hardships during the children’s adolescence became parents earlier
than their peers and also treated their children more harshly; and

WHEREAS, According to T. Rowe Price’s 2014 Parents, Kids
& Money Survey, 69 percent of parents are “very/extremely”
concerned about setting a good financial example for their kids,
but 74 percent admit they are reluctant to approach the topic
because they do not want their kids to worry; and

WHEREAS, The State of California established the Bank on
California Program to raise awareness among unbanked consumers
about the benefits of account ownership and to spur Californians
to open accounts; and

WHEREAS, The Bank on California Program makes quality
money management education more easily available to low-income
Californians and raises statewide awareness of the unbanked
problem and potential solutions; and

WHEREAS, An estimated 7.8 percent of Californians are
unbanked and an additional 18 percent are considered underbanked;
and

WHEREAS, The average unbanked Californian pays $1,000 a
year to cash paychecks; and

WHEREAS, Californians with bank accounts are more likely
to save, have higher credit scores, and get better-priced car and
home loans; and

WHEREAS, Resolutions similar to this resolution have been
introduced and passed with strong bipartisan support to increase
awareness of the need for financial literacy for California citizens;
now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby declares the month
of April 2015 as Financial Aid and Literacy Month, with the theme
of “Financial Wellness: A Family Affair,” to raise public awareness
about the continuing need for increased financial literacy; and be
it further

Resolved, That legislators, employers, schools, service groups,
community organizations, libraries, financial institutions, and the
media should be encouraged to provide opportunities for financial
literacy education for all Californians through a variety of means
to provide outreach and education; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.