Survey: Alaska is least financially literate state

By
Suzanne Downing
-
16

With April being National Financial Literacy Month, WalletHub released its report on 2021’s Most & Least Financially Literate States.

The study uses 17 metrics, including the results of WalletHub’s WalletLiteracy Survey, which range from high-school financial literacy to share of adults with a rainy-day fund. Here’s the list, with Alaska at the 51st position:

Most Financially Literate StatesLeast Financially Literate States
1. Virginia42. Rhode Island
2. Utah43. District of Columbia
3. Colorado44. West Virginia
4. New Hampshire45. Oklahoma
5. New Jersey46. South Dakota
6. Maine47. New Mexico
7. Minnesota48. Mississippi
8. Iowa49. Arkansas
9. Washington50. Louisiana
10. North Carolina51. Alaska

16 COMMENTS

  2. The conservatives have been in charge of the school budgets and the education system in Alaska for years.

  4. No, Harborguy, the conservatives have not been in charge for years. This is certainly true at municipalities like Anchorage, Juneau, and many native communities. All budget issues in Alaska and DC are a bipartisan party. ALL issue are a bipartisan issue. Neither party is doing a good job at anything, especially when we keep getting the same people year after year. Nothing will change unless we implement term limits for all politicians at every level AND within all those federal and state workers, like SCOTUS and Pentagon.

  5. What are you trying to do surprise us!?
    Hahaha
    Thats eye rolling moment.
    Alaska legislators and Anchorage Assembly reflect it, those elected can’t maintain a balance budget. When Gov. Dunleavy tried to be a strong man maintain his campaign promise cut the budget and get spending under control Alaska screamed throwing a tantrum threatening to divorce Dunleavy like a spoiled wife.

    I’ll add goes to show proof Alaskan also ranks bottom last for reading development. Don’t expect public schools to improve, they will not. Frankly, by school boards seeing implementation of this LGBTQ + and critical race theories inside schools, be best parents make a mass exit while their children are still living and they have hope.

  8. Most Alaskans don’t have to be financially literate; we’re mostly “trust fund babies.” I made an “A” on the quiz, but I’ve spent a good portion of my life in the private sector, mostly in entrepreneurial or managerial positions. Even my time in government was in administrative or managerial positions in which I had to be acutely aware of the economic implications of my actions.

    Most Alaskans are either government dependents, government employees, or employees of large corporations which provide almost as much security and benefits as government, and at the upper levels even more.

    If you’re on welfare, you don’t have to know any of the things on that test; somebody takes care of all of that for you. Somebody gives you a house or pays your rent, you get your check and EBT card and live life on the “one easy payment” plan; you don’t have to know or care about compounded interest.

    Government employees don’t have to worry about “emergency” savings; they can just cash out some leave if the dog bites or the bee stings. If they get fired or laid off, they have all their accrued benefits to cash out and rely on until they can land somewhere else.

    Generally, if you have a steady income, the only way you can get yourself in trouble economically is if you try to do it yourself, and especially if you think you might be getting a “special” deal or opportunity. If you’re going to make a private purchase of real or personal property of significant value, caveat emptor. If you do it through the big boxes and other corporate providers, they all have lots of regulations and lots of insurance and lawyers, so nothing dramatic is likely to happen; in other words, you don’t have to know much about what you’re doing.

    The only problem is that knowing at least a little about the economic system is no guarantee of anything. Yeah, I made an A on the test but more of my business ventures have been failures than successes. That’s what really irritated me about the media wusses who carried on about Donald Trumps business dealings; if you haven’t ever disputed a billing with a contractor or vendor, you weren’t trying very hard to run your business. If you haven’t declared bankruptcy or simply shut the door of a business, you were never willing to take a risk.

    So, anyway, to quote Slo Joe, Alaskans have the luxury of being economic illiterates; our betters in government will take care of all of that for us.

  9. The weighting was stacked against us. We should get extra points for Universal Basic Income, beer pong (honestly don’t know what that is), leg wrestling and letting our legislature meet in Juneau.

  13. Alaska’s government isn’t illiterate about finances. They’re very literate on how to line their bank accounts by wasteful spending which benefits those who will reciprocate.
    The CBC is alive and well…………………

  15. HARBORGUY, you obviously do not know what you are talking about. The legislature may have been conservative and even then schools were well funded but the local school districts completely control that money. In Anchorage we have not had a conservative school board in the last 30 years. The unions run ASD and have for years. There is a bill right. now in the legislature (was last year also) to hole educators accountable for reading. Guess what the biggest obstacle is? Teacher unions and other educational lobbyists. Even the current superintendent is trying to do something about unions and being fought terribly. Why were Anchorage schools closed for a year when Mat Su was opened? ASD teacher unions. Alaska has one of the toughest “local control” laws in the nation. Try fighting the local unions!

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