I found an interesting little quiz online today, put out by the Comeback America Foundation. It tests “Fiscal IQ” and fiscal knowledge. Click here to take the test. It only takes about five minutes, and I think you should take it.
After completing the five minute and 30-question quiz, participants are provided two scores (Fiscal Knowledge and Fiscal Wisdom) as well as an overall IQ score, which is the average of the Knowledge and Wisdom scores. For any questions they answer incorrectly, the test taker will receive information explaining why they were wrong. The Fiscal IQ Quiz can be found here.
The test is based on David Walker‘s book on dealing with America’s fiscal crisis–“Comeback America” which I read earlier this year. It looks at how government policy should shift to deal with the massive and growing deficits caused by the 55% (and growing) of our federal budget that is on cruise-control to pay for entitlements like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. As I wrote in May—
It is almost cliché for my generation to joke that Social Security will be gone before we retire. It may be a stretch, but it really is no joking matter. Social Security is in a bad way, and it is getting worse.
The number of Social Security recipients is growing faster than the number of people paying into it. It is a likely scenario that the Social Security trust fund (which doesn’t really exist, anyway) will be gone by the time I stop paying in and start asking for it back.
Social Security is just one piece of the puzzle, though, and perhaps even the easiest piece. Nevertheless, it’s taken a maverick like Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz to start talking about how to reform the bankrupt entitlement to make it sustainable for future generations. (ICYMI, the Social Security Administration is calling it a plan that will make Social Security solvent.)
Things haven’t changed much in the intervening seven months since I read Walker’s book, at least not for the better. Washington is still stalled, President Obama has not proposed a budget palatable to Republicans or Democrats on the Hill, and America’s debt has been downgraded (and while that makes debt cheaper, it doesn’t exactly endear us to creditors). We’re still on cruise control, the “Super-Committee” demonstrated that they weren’t so super, and the most action we’ve seen is the occupation, and subsequent forced evacuation, of Wall Street.
Is anyone really surprised that Americans are angry?
Take the test. Education is the best remedy to ignorance, so send it to your Congressman or Congresswoman, as well.
Please share your results in the comments. I scored 80% on the Fiscal IQ part and 100% on the Fiscal Knowledge…go figure.
Related articles
- ICYMI: Social Security Admin. Says Chaffetz Proposal Would Lead to ‘Sustainable Solvency’ (chaffetz.house.gov)
- David Walker has it right (adailyglimpse.com)
- Entitlement Reform: Start with Social Security (PubliusOnline.com)
About Daniel Burton
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I took it, but didn’t do so well. But I printed off the answers so I can study up.
Apparently I’m part of the problem. Though there were at least three questions I got wrong that when I clicked the wrong answer I thought, ‘If this is the wrong answer, then we have major problems.’ I was trying to give the US the benefit of the doubt.
I think you’ve hit on an important point: most, or many, of us just aren’t well educated on where the money is going once the federal government has it. It’s almost unbelievable, and as a result, change happens slowly.
70 then 90….