Blog: Financial Literacy Month

Statement

April is Financial Literacy Month, an opportunity to learn more about healthy financial habits. Growing up on a farm in Dardanelle, my parents made sure I understood the value of a dollar and the value of saving a dollar. In high school, I worked at the U.S. Café in Dardanelle for a little extra pocket money. Each paycheck I brought home was met with a friendly (but serious!) reminder from my mom, Avis, to put some of those earnings into my savings account at our local bank.

Unfortunately, politicians in Washington aren't currently setting a very good example of fiscal responsibility for our future generations. Our debt has grown dramatically over the last 6 years, both in raw amount--trillions of dollars!--and relative to our economy as a whole. In 2008, our national debt was ten trillion dollars--roughly 68 percent of the country's economic output. By the end of this year, the president's own Office of Management and Budget projects it will be almost eighteen trillion dollars--larger than our entire economy.

I'm working hard in Congress to stop reckless spending and confront our national debt head-on. But I want to make sure Arkansas's next generations are learning the importance of fiscal responsibility in their own lives. To do my part, I will be posting tips and articles about financial literacy in the coming weeks here on the Cotton Blog and on our social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. And I will be meeting with local high school students to share my thoughts on this important topic.

Proverbs tells us "a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children." These are important words to live by; we should always be working to ensure things are better for the next generation. Please be sure to check back in the coming weeks as we mark Financial Literacy Month.

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