Even before the sub-prime crisis, there had been a frenzy of financial literacy campaigns. But is financial education really the answer? Not so, according to a new paper by law professor Lauren Willis. She believes promoting financial literacy does more harm than good. She highlights several reasons why even an educated consumer might make a bad choice. Actually, educated consumers may fare worse because they suffer from over confidence or take a false sense of security in their limited knowledge. According to Ms Willis promoting financial literacy actually harms consumers because it also absolves predatory lenders and the like of responsibility. They can claim their prey knew better.

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Ms Willis may underestimate how much many people do know. Olivia Mitchell and Annamaria Lusardi found many people do not even have the most basic financial knowledge. Most people do not know the difference between debt and equity, yet are responsible for saving and investing for their retirement. We have a population of people responsible for their financial future and ill-equipped to do so.

High school should teach you the basics to get through life. Everything from balance your checkbook, buying a car and taking out a mortgage. Things like how to change a flat, what a healthy diet is, how to apply for jobs and prepare for job interviews. There are tons of other various other life skills that everyone should pick up in high school. Think of it as bootcamp for reality.

Why make people learn trig when they can't figure out how to keep the root of their head?