Sometimes reality just whacks you the way a Zen master whacks his pupil in an attempt to force him awake, and you're left in wide-eyed astonishment. I was reading the National Adult Literacy Survey and came across this fact. Only 4% of American adults measured in the survey were able to answer this question correctly: If you borrow $10,000 at 14.25% APR for 10 years with a monthly payment of $156.77, how much total interest do you pay?
Only 4% of adult Americans could compute the total amount of the payments ($156.77 x 120 months), subtract the principal ($10,000), and arrive at the answer: $8812.40 in interest. In fact, respondents didn't really have to compute anything; they only needed to explain how to arrive at the answer.
Is it really possible that things are this bad in America?
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