There never seems to be enough time to teach everything that administrators, policy advocates, parents, legislators, and the general public think should be addressed in the elementary classroom. Each year, elementary teachers are asked to add more and more to their already crowded curriculum. Add to this the pressures of state standards and making annual yearly progress in reading and math as legislated by NCLB, and it is easy to see why social studies instruction is being marginalized. Time for social studies in K-5 classrooms is scarce, so why should teachers make economics a part of their elementary curriculum? In this article, the authors provide reasons why economics should be taught in the elementary classroom. They argue that economic instruction needs to start early to ensure that students are well prepared for their adult roles as consumers, producers, investors, U.S. citizens, and global citizens. Young children can learn the basics of economics if teachers are knowledgeable about the content, are provided with quality instructional materials, and receive guidance on what concepts to teach and at what age children are likely to be able to comprehend them. Armed with economic knowledge and skills, students will leave school with the ability to not only make informed choices, but also recognize the long-term consequences of their decision on themselves and others. (Contains 11 notes.)