Bible-based personal finance textbook written by right-wing evangelical used in Florida schools: report

Some Florida parents are outraged that a Bible-based personal finance textbook is being used to teach their kids in Florida schools, according to a report.

Eight residents of Pasco County formally objected to the “Foundations in Personal Finance” textbook by right-wing Christian finance guru Dave Ramsey, who cites biblical verses and evangelical teachings in his books and radio programs, reported the Tampa Bay Times.

“I object to the teaching of this material and biblical quotes and rhetoric written by the author, who also is a well-known right-wing media spokesperson,” wrote parent Mark Young, of Wesley Chapel, in a petition he launched.

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Odessa mother Jessica Wright said the Ramsey textbook was just as wrong for schools as state-approved videos distributed by the right-wing outfit PragerU, which is supported by a conservative radio host Dennis Prager who has acknowledged it was intended to indoctrinate children with its civics and government lessons.

“I really wanted to hear what evidence do you have that I am despicable, and all I heard was, ‘Well, because you indoctrinate kids,’" Prager told a conference this summer in Philadelphia. "Which is true. We bring doctrines to children. That is a very fair statement. I said, ‘But what is the bad of our indoctrination?’”

Wright, who serves on the board of the anti-censorship group Florida Freedom to Read, objected to the Ramsey books describing impoverished families as “busted” and “broke," and instructional assistant Bertell Butler IV faulted the books for focusing too heavily on debt without considering the financial insecurity some families face.

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One of the state's three expert reviewers expressed similar concerns, but ultimately recommended the book, while a third said the book contained some good lessons but did not recommend its adoption.

”I do find that there is a spillage of his views into the text," said that reviewer. "Of course, that is what the author believes, but ... inclusion of other primary source documents and thinking from other economists would make this text a little more analytical and keep to economic theory as well as accepted finance practices.”