Knowledge of Poles regarding public finances is very superficial

While they are familiar with terms like the state budget, inflation, deficit, or debt, they do not understand the mechanisms governing public finances and often mistakenly compare it to a household budget. Therefore, the Institute of Finance has prepared a study explaining how the state budget and the interconnected public finance system function. According to a representative of the institute, formal education has little impact on Poles' financial knowledge level.

"Generally, Poles know that we have public finances, a budget and that the government does not have its own money but uses funds absorbed from the economy to cover its expenses. The problem lies in the technicalities," Michał Ostrowski, an expert from the Public Policy Team at the Institute of Finance, said.

"The biggest misconception arises from intuitively equating a household budget with a public budget. In household finances, it is standard for a well-managed person to have a surplus, meaning they will earn more than they spend. However, in the case of public finances, it's entirely the opposite because the government does not have its own money but absorbs funds from the economy. In such a situation, if the government were to have chronic budget surpluses, it would mean that it is taking too much money from citizens," he added.

(Newseria)