By: Diane Benjamin
Illinois State Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs sent an email yesterday. He went into a long diatribe about a bike accident he had as a kid that ended with requiring the removal of his spleen. The point of his story is people need to ask for help when they need it. He was bleeding internally and didn’t. Luckily he had parents who noticed something was wrong.
The email ended with this:
Many people have written to me about their financial difficulties. Even with a good job, many folks struggle to provide for their families and save for college and retirement. Many of them feel like they are drowning.
They might be embarrassed to ask for help because they feel like it is their fault. Some of our families and school districts don’t do a great job of preparing us to manage our finances, but we shouldn’t be embarrassed or afraid to ask for help.
That’s why we created the Illinois Financial Wellness Hub. It is an online resource for people with information on a range of financial topics. You can visit it anonymously and see if we can help.
We all have setbacks, and we all need help from time to time. If you find yourself financially on your back, in the middle of the road, please take an offer of help when it is extended.
Some people reading his email might believe the State is giving away money. They aren’t unless you are here illegally. https://illinoiscomptroller.gov/__media/sites/comptroller/assets/AsylumSeekers/AS_Budget_Spreadsheet.pdf
The site has a wide range of classes and personal analysis meant to teach you what “school districts” failed to teach. I found it funny the education system gets blamed since his party is in charge of the curriculum.
More hilarity:
Did you see the part about visiting his site anonymously? Go to the website: https://illinoistreasurer.enrich.org/
Try clicking on any of the wisdom government wants to bestow on you. You will see this:
Unless you create a fake persona, you aren’t anonymous on this site. Worse, you paid bureaucrats a salary, benefits, and pension to create the site.
Illinois is the 3rd worst state for unemployment and near the top of highest taxes. Government is always hiring for non-essential services nobody asked for. This is the perfect example.
How many people who can’t make ends meet are going to take advice from a website? Frerichs should promote removing all the bull kids are currently taught in school and replacing it with useful financial education.
Of course creating government dependents is the goal, not free citizens.
If you care about Frerichs’ spleen, you can read the whole story here: https://illinoistreasurergovprod.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/twocms/media/doc/july2024_nl_asking%20for%20help%20when%20we%20need%20it.pdf