Even before my love of politics, I loved numbers. I have always excelled at math – it’s what paved the way for me to become a CPA before ever running for public office. Especially in today’s political climate that is saturated with controversy and stark political divide, I remember one of the reasons I fell in love with Math in the first place: As German mathematician David Hilbert professed, “Mathematics knows no races or geographic boundaries; for mathematics, the cultural world is one country.” In a world that is currently so divided, math is a universal language that can help to pave roads, build bridges, solve problems, and even break down walls.
Math is used every day! The look on students’ faces during my school visits when I discuss its many uses makes me laugh. Sometimes math gets a bad reputation since students groan about having to learn specific algorithms or formulas without relying on their smartphones.
Math plays a significant role in many of the things we utilize today – calculating train timetables for when a commuter train will arrive to take you to work, filing your income taxes and calculating how much use tax or how much voluntary contribution you’d like to give to charity, or when you eat at a restaurant or buy a book and you need to see how much sales tax is owed. As a member of the Board of Equalization, I utilize math every time I’m listening to a case and need to figure out how much money will be owed or refunded. Math is everywhere.
April is Math and Statistics Awareness Month as well as Financial Literacy Month. This makes sense seeing as math plays a significant role in financial literacy. According to the 2016 U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission report, nearly half of all households are unable to pay for an unexpected $400 expense without having to borrow money or sell something. Over half worry about running out of money in retirement. Education about how to manage finances in your daily life is critical: Everything from understanding your checking account, learning how to save for retirement or a house, reading your credit report, or making a budget for your house bills needs a basic understanding of math.
It’s imperative that we start educating our children by teaching them age-appropriate economic skills. MyMoney.Gov is a national financial education website developed by the U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission that has information for teachers, researchers, and kids to help them learn how to earn, save, and spend money wisely. While it may be true that not all children will grow up to be CPAs or engineers, math is clearly a part of everyday life. Ben Franklin said, “Nothing in this world can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” While I agree with Mr. Franklin, I also believe that taxes do not have to be the death of you!