Education and the economy

Thomas Friedman discusses education in America and the findings of a recent McKinsey study:

If America had closed the international achievement gap between 1983 and 1998 and had raised its performance to the level of such nations as Finland and South Korea, United States G.D.P. in 2008 would have been between $1.3 trillion and $2.3 trillion higher. If we had closed the racial achievement gap and black and Latino student performance had caught up with that of white students by 1998, G.D.P. in 2008 would have been between $310 billion and $525 billion higher. If the gap between low-income students and the rest had been narrowed, G.D.P. in 2008 would have been $400 billion to $670 billion higher.

David Brooks had his own column about education last month, noting his belief that Obama is sincere in his desire to reform our educational system.

There's a reason Obama has linked education, energy, and healthcare to our economy: they are all fundamental challenges that will cripple our ability to compete as a nation in the future. There are many other reasons to act on all three of Obama's budget priorities, but you can't ignore the dollars and cents impact of inaction.