A Stitch in Haste

Here's something you don't see every day: the government unable to figure out how to spend money: (WSJ -$)

The landmark $1.4 billion settlement with Wall Street investment banks for misleading stock research, reached in April 2003, set aside $30 million for investor-education efforts in the states and another $55 million for a federal program.

The federal program has all but collapsed and the states are now angling to add that money to their own education efforts. The feds say they have no intention of allowing the states to take the money, and the outfit running the states' program has had its own difficulties, including large investment losses stemming from overly aggressive investment strategies.

The Securities and Exchange Commission set up the federal program about a year ago. But not much good has happened since then. The program's top executives are in the midst of resigning. All its board members have indicated they plan to leave. The SEC-backed effort hasn't defined its mission and has failed to even register as a nonprofit corporation.

Heh. The federal government has never been very good at "educating the public" about, well, anything, (e.g., food pyramids) so how about they just give the money to PBS to create some documentaries about financial planning? At least that might have some shelf life.

In any case, when it comes to "investor education," the best teacher is experience.