One of the most important lessons the subprime mortgage crisis holds for us is just how poorly informed many Americans are when it comes to making important financial decisions. Clearly, there is a need for basic financial education. But when, where, and how should such education be delivered? Financial literacy programs aimed at high school students do not appear to be effective, and few adults are willing to expend the time, money, and effort to acquire the sort of general education that would help them make good lifelong financial decisions.

Baker, C. and D. Dylla (2007). "Analyzing the Relationship Between Account Ownership and Financial Education." New America Foundation.

Abstract: Account ownership and financial knowledge are understood to be critical components of financial stability and wealth accumulation.

Today's complex financial marketplace makes it increasingly difficult for individuals to understand and navigate the array of products and services available from a variety of financial service providers. For low to middle income individuals who have fewer financial resources to begin with, a solid grounding in personal finance and a clear understanding of the options and implications of one's financial decisions are all the more critical.

Over the past two decades, policymakers, academics, and others have pursued an array of policies and strategies to help lower and middle income households to build savings and assets and access reasonably-priced financial products at mainstream institutions.  While some progress has been made, there have been few advances to delivering a high-value, affordable financial product at scale.