NorCalUrban

Here is an important editorial in the New York Times called "The Great Seduction by David Brooks. You can read the original post here.   Thanks to Dr. Amy Sherman from Ele:Vate for the head's up. The people who created this country built a moral structure around money. The Puritan legacy inhibited luxury and self-indulgence. Benjamin Franklin spread a practical gospel that emphasized hard work, temperance and frugality. Millions of parents, preachers, newspaper editors and teachers expounded the message. The result was quite remarkable. The United States has been an affluent nation since its founding. But the country was, by and large, not corrupted by wealth. For centuries, it remained industrious, ambitious and frugal. Over the past 30 years, much of that has been shredded. The social norms and institutions that encouraged frugality and spending what you earn have been undermined. The institutions that encourage debt and living for the moment have been strengthened. The co...

Last Monday I went to LA to meet with Amy Sherman. We went down to talk to the California / Nevada Credit Union League about Amy's Econonmis program. Economis is an excellent web based 'token economy' that teaches kids econonic literacy through a very like program. We're looking to impliment the program in a local East Palo Alto school and offer the program to three to five other community partners. We had a great time with the League and then headed back to the Ontario airport for our trip back to San Jose. Amy is a great person. Very engaging and bright. She's written a few books including this one. She's recognized as a national leader in CCDA circles. NCUD is thrilled to be workign with her. In EPA we had a great time meeting with our potential partners. I'm especially excited about working at my son's school East Palo Alto Stanford Academy. Jenni and I have alot or work to do to get ready for the roll out of our financial literacy initiative...