NCUA Chairman Johnson, National Leaders
Join Together on Financial Empowerment in Atlanta
Atlanta, GA, April 12, 2005 – In recognition of Financial Literacy Month, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman JoAnn Johnson participated in a “Day of Hope” with government and national leaders involved in civil rights and economic empowerment in Atlanta on April 12.
In addition to participating in the financial teaching marathon at Jean Childs Young Middle School, Chairman Johnson served as a panelist on “From Civil Rights to Silver Rights: The Dawning of a New Movement in the 21st Century America” at Georgia State University with United States Securities Exchange Commissioner Paul S. Atkins; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Donald E. Powell; Craig DeRoy, President of The First American Corporation, and Thomas J. McInerney, Chief Executive Officer of ING U.S. Financial Services to discuss financial literacy and economic empowerment. The panel was moderated by Ed Gordon, host of News and Notes with Ed Gordon on National Public Radio.
“I was extremely pleased to join with so many pioneers who truly have been in the trenches of empowerment,” said NCUA Chairman Johnson. “All financial institutions should be at the table, working together to address the critical issue of financial literacy in America. As President Bush has said, the real measure of compassion is more than good intentions, it is good results. Financial education is part of the mission of so many credit unions and I congratulate them for their fervor and progress in their communities.”
A Day of Hope, hosted by Operation Hope, Inc., a not-for-profit financial education and economic empowerment organization featured leaders including Ambassador Andrew Young, chairman of Goodworks International; John Bryant, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Operation Hope, Inc.; former HUD Secretary Jack Kemp; Dr. Dorothy I. Height, pioneering civil rights leader and chairwoman emeritus of the National Council of Negro Women; and other high ranking federal and state officials to announce a citywide commitment to educate every middle and high school student in financial literacy in the Atlanta Public School District.
“Education is the ultimate poverty eradication tool, and financial literacy is one of the most important issues facing our nation today,” said Bryant, who founded the national self-help organization working to bring economic self-sufficiency to inner-city residents and low-wealth communities. “And credit unions are a vehicle for change.”
Operation Hope’s financial literacy initiative was established in 1996 to teach children the basics of managing their financial futures and surviving in a global economy. It is a national year round urban delivery platform for economic literacy in the country today, operating in eight states and the District of Columbia.
“This is an idea whose time has come,” said Dr. Height, a recipient of the 2004 Congressional Gold Medal. “Wealth is more than a big salary. We need to get over our self consciousness and be more effective in what we do.”
According to the comprehensive report issued by Operation Hope on “The State of Financial Literacy of Young African-American Adults in America,” indicators include higher relative scores in questions related to spending rather than saving as well as higher use of credit and debit cards and lower use of saving and investing vehicles.”
Also, the Jump$tart Coalition recently released a survey of more than 4,000 high school students in 33 states, which measured 12 graders’ level of knowledge of personal finance basics. While the study found that there were modest gains in financial literacy, 65.5 percent of students failed the exam and only 6.1 percent scored a C or better.
President George W. Bush designated JoAnn Johnson as Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration May 1, 2004. The President appointed Chairman Johnson to a seat on the NCUA Board in 2002. A former teacher, Chairman Johnson was elected to the Iowa Senate in 1994 and served as Chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and the Commerce Committee.
The National Credit Union Administration, governed by a three-member board appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, also operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), insuring the deposits of over 83 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions.
| 