The upcoming Virginia gubernatorial election holds significance, as it is the first in the state where both major party candidates are women. In addition to this, it represents a litmus test for public opinion of the Trump presidency so far. In Virginia, Republican Party opponents have accused Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger of having policies that threaten capitalism. The mischaracterization of economic policy has been used by politicians in the United States to make voters perceive candidates based on fear of labels rather than their proposed policies. Incorrect messaging about economic policies will continue to impact states with key elections coming up like Virginia. Regardless of the merits of policies, the mischaracterization of policies as threatening capitalism functions to prevent voters from making fact-based decisions and will lead them to base their voting decisions on biased sources. Education is the answer to this problem.
Spanberger is running on a centrist platform. Some of Spanberger’s Republican opponents are drawing a comparison between her and Democratic Socialist New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on the basis of economic policy. Spanberger has pushed back against economic comparisons between them, as they support different policies — for instance, Mamdani wants to explicitly increase taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals, while Spanberger has not publicly supported taxing corporations and wealthy individuals but rather has advocated for tax relief. Furthermore, Spanberger has previously spoken out against Democratic colleagues with less moderate views and has warned against socialist economic policies. Despite communicating her position as a centrist and creating a platform free of economically socialist policies, Spanberger has fallen victim to labeling that paints her as anti-capitalist.
Too many Americans have not been educated enough about economic concepts and systems like capitalism, socialism and communism because their high school curriculum is not addressing this need. Only about half of states mandate economics courses as a part of high school curriculum. Luckily, Virginia is one of these states. However, the requirement in Virginia is for one credit of economics and personal finance which lumps two important topics together and does not give each enough space in curriculum. Virginia should expand its economics education in high school, and in turn address political mischaracterization.
Even in a state like Virginia, these inaccuracies matter. Young voters between the ages of 18-24, often voting in some of their first local elections, are particularly susceptible to economic rhetoric that may be incorrect as they do not have enough exposure in their education to be able to recognize when mischaracterization is used. One required class of all Virginians — that is not entirely focused on economics but is a combined requirement with personal finance — is not enough to economically educate the entire population of Virginia. In the current political climate that requires voters to sift through incorrect messaging to establish fact based opinions on policies, it is imperative that economics education gets further prioritized in Virginia.
Expanding economics requirements in high school would help strengthen the foundation that voters have to make informed decisions. Currently in Virginia, the requirement for high schoolers is one credit of online personal finance and economics. Expansion could look like increasing the requirement beyond one credit, creating two distinct personal finance and economics requirements, or moving instruction of the course to be in person to ensure that students get ample education on both topics.
Beyond Virginians learning more about a vital part of their financial and political life, more education for individuals can spur greater voter turnout. Especially educating one’s self in a topic as important to the country as economics will encourage more Virginians to take stances based in real economic understanding. With concerns that voter turnout may drop for the upcoming gubernatorial race after Virginia’s lowest turnout since 2000 in this past presidential election, economics education could be a factor in the transformation that this state needs.
In a political climate where economic policies are mislabeled as a means of persuasion, it is becoming imperative to prioritize economics education to equip young voters to make informed decisions ahead of the gubernatorial race this November. Increased economics education can help incentivize higher voter turnout in Virginia, but also set a precedent nationally by preventing campaigns from holding voters back from making informed decisions based on policy and promoting policies that support increased education throughout the United States. In turn, helping young people become literate about economics can help mend polarization by encouraging informed voting and policy debates based in fact rather than mischaracterization.
Emma Nero is an opinion columnist who writes about economics, business and housing for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the authors alone.
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