Blog Post
Financial Literacy for Inmates
Financial
literacy for inmates opens up many possibilities and opportunities. For
example, Curtis "Wall Street" Carrol, an ex-con with over 3 million
views on YouTube, became a stock investing genius while serving time in prison.
Carrol discusses in a TED talk how he picked up a book at 20 while serving time
and developed knowledge discipline, financial literacy, etc. Carroll is also
known as the inmate teaching financial literacy behind bars.
Countless felons stumbled upon financial literacy while
serving time. Furthermore, there is the world-famous bodybuilder Kali Muscle
with YouTube videos amassing over millions of views. Another ex-convict who has
come out of prison to create a positive life for himself based on his knowledge
of financial literacy. He currently spends time mentoring new YouTubers on
increasing their "brand awareness," views, and subscribers.
According to Morris (2015), improving the financial literacy for
inmates has positive implications for the matriculation back into society at
the end of their sentences. Part of the problem when the term felon or inmate
is mentioned is the negative stigma associated with those terms. This further
justifies Morris's work looking into financial literacy amongst inmates. In
Morris' article, he cites what teachers of professional literacy have said
about inmates:
·
Inmates
love giveaways and promo items.
·
One
of the most responsive audiences
·
Inmates
are receptive and respectful.
Based on this information, we could go
as far as saying some of the inmates in prison ended up there due to their lack
of understanding of financial literacy. An inmate in Morris' work cited falling
victim to the Payday loan trap. These high-interest rate loans that just put
peoples' finances into a whirlwind when they can't make payments. Think about
what drives certain people to do to obtain the means to pay back a loan. Essentially,
with financial literacy becoming more widespread, we could drastically reduce
the crime rate on a national level. This is evident with the inmates who spoke
in Morris' interviews and the fact that even the public educational system is
making a huge push to get financial literacy into high school classrooms as
part of the mandated curriculum. Financial literacy for inmates is extremely
important but equally important is financial literacy for all students.
In closing, financial literacy is certainly a game-changer in our society. Going back to Curtis Carroll and Kali Muscle, what is most unique about these gentlemen is that they served time in prison and found a way to use their knowledge of financial literacy to create successful careers for themselves. They are very humble, and their delivery instills this belief that anyone can achieve what they achieved. It will not surprise if coursework in financial literacy becomes a graduation requirement across the United States.
References
Morris,
C. (2015). Empowering inmates through financial education in jails. Retrieved
from
Carroll, C. (2017). How I learned to read -- and trade stocks -- in prison | Curtis "Wall Street." Carroll.Ted Talk.
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