08-R129
2008 -- H 8098
Enacted 03/27/08
H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N
DESIGNATING APIRL,
2008 AS "FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
Introduced By:
Representatives Church, Costantino, Serpa, Dennigan, and Silva
Date Introduced: March 27,
2008
WHEREAS,
Alarming statistics in our national personal financial marketplace include:
Private
savings rates have steadily declined over the past twenty years and during this
period,
uncollateralized
debt has risen to record highs: More than 20 million Americans do not have a
traditional
banking relationship: The average college student is now more than $20,000 in
debt
after
graduation, leading many graduates to forego financial goals such as purchasing
a home or
saving
and investing for retirement: Identity theft and other financial schemes
increasingly
threaten
Rhode Island citizens: Rhode Island high school seniors who took the national
2006
Jump$tart
Coalition personal financial literacy survey answered just forty-nine percent
of the
questions
correctly; and
WHEREAS,
The financial well-being of individual Rhode Island citizens is linked to our
State’s
and Nation’s economic health; and
WHEREAS,
Personal financial literacy is linked to individual financial well-being; and
WHEREAS,
Personal financial literacy education involves active engagement on the part
of
individual citizens and family units to an ongoing and evolving process; and
WHEREAS,
Governments, private businesses, community-based organizations, and
institutions
of education are stakeholders in the pursuit of increased personal financial
literacy,
and
by working together, can help individual consumers make informed decisions
about their
finances;
and
WHEREAS,
The personal financial education of all citizens, especially young and other
vulnerable
populations, will improve the quality of their lives, will provide them with
the
necessary
skills for success, and will contribute to making positive changes for the
communities
in
which they live and work; and
WHEREAS,
Public and private partnerships, such as the Rhode Island Jump$tart
Coalition
for Personal Financial Literacy, seek to improve the personal financial
literacy of all
Rhode
Islanders by promoting educational initiatives throughout our state; now,
therefore be it
RESOLVED,
That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and
Providence
Plantations hereby proclaims April 2008 to be “Financial Literacy Month”. We
urge
all
Rhode Islanders to take advantage of various programs and activities that will
increase their
personal
financial literacy both during April and throughout the year; and be it further
RESOLVED,
That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to
transmit
a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Rhode Island Jump$tart
Coalition.
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LC02651
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