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Explaining Economic Crisis To First-Grader

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 26, 2008

Here's how President Bush could help a six-year-old understand the nation's financial situation.

Bush: A real bank is sort of like your piggy bank. It's supposed to have some money in it. But a real bank is different because when it gets empty, it gets shaky. It has to be propped up.

Child: Propped up with what? Sticks?

Bush: No, it has to be propped up with money. If not, it will collapse.

Child: When I fall down, I just get back up.

Bush: Banks can't pick themselves up. Trust me, kid. I don't want to give you bad dreams, but it would be scarier than Halloween. The hurt would spill over. If it spills over, we'd have a mess that we call a meltdown, like a chocolate bar in your pocket on a hot day.

Child: Yucky.

Bush: That's what I'm saying. So I have to rescue banks and their cousins that have so many troubled assets.

Child: They got in trouble?

Bush: It wasn't their fault. It wasn't my fault. The economy has a big hole in it, and lots of money fell out. That's why we need to bail them out.

Child: Like water from a boat?

Bush: No, it's not like bailing out a leaky boat. To keep the economy floating, I need to pump it full of something called liquidity. That's why I need this.

Child: Hey, come back here with my piggy bank!

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