American Thrift

The Institute for American Values began its work on thrift-—the ethic of wise use—-in 2004, when they were invited to partner with the John Templeton Foundation in a scholarly exploration of thrift as an American value. What they discovered was a forgotten history–but more importantly, IAV’s research uncovered limitless contemporary possibilities in an irreplaceable virtue.

“We see thrift as a comprehensive and transformative lens to inspire and measure the aspirations of more productive, self-reliant, imaginative and resilient—in short thriving—individuals and communities,” says the Institute. “In the area of thrift education, our dream is for every young American to benefit from at least one module of high-quality thrift education before reaching age 18, through a school, library, youth-serving organization, or financial services organization.”

With American Thrift: A Reader, David Blankenhorn and Andrew F. Kline provide a key resource in the pursuit of that goal.