There was a fair amount of Republican criticism about the stimulus bill regarding money going to keep state school systems from laying off teachers. Additional angst has accompanied initiatives in the budget proposal to invest strongly in education, energy and health care. We cannot afford, some critics say, to spend money on these things during a recession.
That is more of the same kind of short-term thinking that got us into our current massive problems in the first place, and the longer we delay the more they eventually will cost. Take education, for example. The following figures are drawn from Jack Z. Smith of the Dallas Star-Telegram.
The February figures put the national unemployment rate at 8.1%. It is undoubtedly higher, but that is the "official" figure the way it is calculated. A closer look into the numbers breakdown shows unemployment is 12.6% for those without a high school diploma, 8.3% for high school graduates and 4.1% for college graduates. In other words, a high school grad is twice as likely to be out of work as a college grad. A high school dropout is three times as likely.
The Census Bureau found these median 2007 incomes. Bear in mind a median is not an average. It means half the people in the group are above the figure and half below.
$19,405, people with less than a high school diploma.
$26,894, associates (community college) degree or some college
$46,805, bachelor's degree
$61,287, graduate or professional degree
Between the unemployment figure and the income figure the value of an education couldn't be clearer. Both in the short and the long term this is something we cannot as a nation afford to scrimp on. Indeed, with the emphasis on education now taking place in Asian countries, it is quite clear that much greater efforts will be required to even remain competitive with them in the world economy. Now is most definitely not the time to reduce the national commitment to education. In fact, the time to do that would be, in a word, never.
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