If You Think Education is Costly, Try Ignorance

The cost of education is skyrocketing, and most college bound students will incur substantial debt.  Is it worth it?  YES,YES,YES!  Other than good health, there is nothing more important for a person than education, both for the individual and the country as a whole.  Statistics show this to be the case, and I'll just give a few examples.

Countries do well because of one of two reasons.  One, the country has great natural wealth, like Saudi Arabia, that allows the country to prosper.  Two, the country does not have great natural resources, but educates its people, to create a prosperous economy.  Japan, Taiwan, and now China (which is developing a good education system) are examples of this.  The United States is lucky to have both natural resources and an educated population.  But our education system is slipping, our workforce is not the best educated anymore, and some people think that's ok.  Some don't want government to pay, or help pay, for education.  Oh, they want people to be educated, but they don't want it to come at their expense.

We all benefit from an educated population.  6% of college graduates live in poverty, while, 22% of people who only finished high school, live in poverty.  This means that many more uneducated people are going to require public services.  Also, non college grads earn 62% of what college grads earn.  Over their lifetime, the non college grad will more likely need government assistance.

Finally, knowledge is power.  An educated society can make educated decisions.  In the long run, education pays off big time for everyone.  We have to invest in our children from the time they are toddlers, and make America's education system great again.  Some people don't want to invest in education because they either don't have children or their children are grown and they won't benefit from investing in education.  That is foolish thinking.  We all benefit from education our children.  Society benefits.  New York has made a bold step in offering free college tuition to residents.  (I don't know the details).  Hopefully, other states will follow suit.  If the federal government doesn't act, progressive states will have to take the lead.  Come on, California!