4 ms·

I feel like we also need to teach kids how the IRS works and what withholding, tax returns, credits, and deductions actually mean. Balancing a checkbook is triv

I feel like we also need to teach kids how the IRS works and what withholding, tax returns, credits, and deductions actually mean. Balancing a checkbook is trivial compared to understanding what needs to be filed and when.

bwb 5y ago
ya, compound interest, long term returns of the stock market, 401k fees, etc
- kritiko 5y ago
  a problem with this is that you could eventually get to the truth that the best way to increase your wealth is to get a higher salary.
  - reidjs 5y ago
    Not necessarily IMO. Wealth is a function of assets, liabilities, income, and other factors. There are plenty of people with high salaries who I wouldn’t consider wealthy by any stretch.
    - bwb 5y ago
      ya, I think it is a combo of salary + behaviours that build wealth, combined with having some idea about what you want from your brief time on this planet.
Gunax 5y ago
I actually gently disagree. There is a lot of statements that education doesn't teach practical skills, but i think that's a mistake. We don't teach specifics like 'how to do your taxes' or different retirement account types. But we teach general skills that enable those. And frankly, those change too often (both time and jurisdiction) and are far too broad to be very useful. When English teachers discuss Shakespeare, or history teachers discuss analyzing documents: they are generally not expecting students to have to read those particulars, but instead aiming for attainment of a more general skill (literacy, analysis, veracity). Basically, I think it's better to just teach math and literacy in general. Then if they want to know how APR is calculated, they will have the ability to research it. School cannot possibly teach everything one could want or need to know in life. It's more about setting a foundation.
- BitwiseFool 5y ago
  As far as teaching about taxes goes, I think the best thing to do would be to broadly cover what the taxation process is. Explain what the income tax is, why FICA is split between you and your employer, what capital gains taxes are, etc. I know the specifics of the tax code are fickle but the core principles of credits, deductions, withholding, refunds, etc. have been there for decades and are likely to remain stable. But to your point, we don't need to test students on their ability to fill out a 1040 correctly, just what it's used for.
throwawayboise 5y ago
Yes, none of my high school graduate children really understand any of this. When they got their first jobs I made them do their tax return by hand on paper. For so many people, "doing your taxes" is when you give your paperwork to H&R Block and you get a refund sometime in the first part of the year. They have no concept that the "refund" was their own money to begin with, and the fact that they are getting it back means that they have been giving the government an interest free loan for the last year.
- imtringued 5y ago
  It's a necessary evil because enforcing taxation at the employer is easier than at the employee. We would need invasive banks for that.
elihu 5y ago
I think that was all covered when I went to high school in the late 90's. I'm not sure if that was the norm everywhere in the U.S. at that time or if it was just that particular teacher thought it was important that we know about that stuff (and if so I think she was right).

bwb 5y ago

ya, compound interest, long term returns of the stock market, 401k fees, etc

kritiko 5y ago
a problem with this is that you could eventually get to the truth that the best way to increase your wealth is to get a higher salary.
- reidjs 5y ago
  Not necessarily IMO. Wealth is a function of assets, liabilities, income, and other factors. There are plenty of people with high salaries who I wouldn’t consider wealthy by any stretch.
  - bwb 5y ago
    ya, I think it is a combo of salary + behaviours that build wealth, combined with having some idea about what you want from your brief time on this planet.

Gunax 5y ago

I actually gently disagree. There is a lot of statements that education doesn't teach practical skills, but i think that's a mistake. We don't teach specifics like 'how to do your taxes' or different retirement account types. But we teach general skills that enable those. And frankly, those change too often (both time and jurisdiction) and are far too broad to be very useful. When English teachers discuss Shakespeare, or history teachers discuss analyzing documents: they are generally not expecting students to have to read those particulars, but instead aiming for attainment of a more general skill (literacy, analysis, veracity). Basically, I think it's better to just teach math and literacy in general. Then if they want to know how APR is calculated, they will have the ability to research it. School cannot possibly teach everything one could want or need to know in life. It's more about setting a foundation.

BitwiseFool 5y ago
As far as teaching about taxes goes, I think the best thing to do would be to broadly cover what the taxation process is. Explain what the income tax is, why FICA is split between you and your employer, what capital gains taxes are, etc. I know the specifics of the tax code are fickle but the core principles of credits, deductions, withholding, refunds, etc. have been there for decades and are likely to remain stable. But to your point, we don't need to test students on their ability to fill out a 1040 correctly, just what it's used for.

throwawayboise 5y ago

Yes, none of my high school graduate children really understand any of this. When they got their first jobs I made them do their tax return by hand on paper. For so many people, "doing your taxes" is when you give your paperwork to H&R Block and you get a refund sometime in the first part of the year. They have no concept that the "refund" was their own money to begin with, and the fact that they are getting it back means that they have been giving the government an interest free loan for the last year.

imtringued 5y ago
It's a necessary evil because enforcing taxation at the employer is easier than at the employee. We would need invasive banks for that.

elihu 5y ago

I think that was all covered when I went to high school in the late 90's. I'm not sure if that was the norm everywhere in the U.S. at that time or if it was just that particular teacher thought it was important that we know about that stuff (and if so I think she was right).