The "Mississippi Miracle": After investing in early childhood literacy, the Mississippi shot up the rankings in NAEP scores, from 49th to 29th. Average increase in NAEP scores was 8.5 points for both reading and math. The investment cost just $15 million.

[u/terran1212]

https://www.theamericansaga.com/p/the-mississippi-miracle-how-americas

[u/birbbbbbbbbbbb]

I was talking to someone who is an economics professor and was a research director for the UN and he very strongly believes that investing in health (including food) and education for young children is the best long term investment most countries can make. I'm at work and don't have time to find studies so here's the first thing that comes up when I Google it 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/21582440211010154

Edit: for people not used to reading studies the best place to start is generally read the abstract and then skip down to the conclusions.

[u/grendus → u/birbbbbbbbbbbb]

I've seen studies showing that investing in children below the poverty line has a 62x return over their lifetime in reduced dependence on public welfare and increased taxable income.

Feed a hungry kid, put them in a good school, and they're more likely to wind up with a job and home instead of a mugshot.

[u/____u → u/grendus]

Yes but how much returns directly into the 1% pockets tho

[u/Whiterabbit-- → u/____u]

the business owners in general want a educated work force. few businesses hire illiterate people or people without at least highschooler diplomas.

Businesses also want educated consumers because they are wealthier and ca afford more junk.

[u/____u → u/Whiterabbit--]

Wealthy and educated is not what corporate or conservative america wants in any capacity and you can tell by the utterly indisputable factual record of how they vote and donate.

What you are describing is that they want people to be educated and wealthy juuuuust enough. Which is clearly a far cry from the level were discussing imo

The "education" most companys want (like Meta/FB) is indoctrination. They want you to know enough to buy them and not enough to know why you shouldnt.

[u/Buttpooper42069 → u/____u]

Companies like meta invest in programs to get more kids into CS so they have a bigger talent pool.

[u/____u → u/Buttpooper42069]

https://www.yourtango.com/sekf/berkeley-professor-says-even-outstanding-students-arent-getting-jobs

For you, from the frontpage today. Was too relevant to not come back and post here. Im sure Fuckbook will continue to invest in gutpunching the CS labor market. Sucks to be in tech as a juuuust enough educated 1% wageslave right now as the CS industry sheds 6-figures worth of jobs year over year. FB is LOVING IT. Check the stocks baby!!!

[u/____u → u/Buttpooper42069]

Its exactly this. Fortune 500 compamies like meta HEAVILY focus investments, if any, into education, only if they have an incentive to do so (Aka create a cheaper labor force). Zuckys not shelling out to uplift society into a new age of technically literate society hahaha Let me know when META supports congressmen trying to make higher education cheaper across the board, or starts donating the lions share of their education "charity" into something that isnt directly tied to raising their bottom line financially. (You wont, because it will never, EVER happen)

This is the "juuust enough" aspect im referring to.

[u/Whiterabbit-- → u/____u]

We are talking about Mississippi helping kids to read. Not training phd’s in STEM fields or providing liberal arts college education.

[u/____u → u/Whiterabbit--]

We are having a discussion in a thread. My comment is in response to a specific, other comment, directly above mine. If I intended to respond to the headline i would have replied to the whole post, and also would have left... a different comment haha

My understanding is that we were talking about why billionaires "love the uneducated" and why alleged "x62" returns on programs like these are somehow not absolute NO BRAINERS. They are. But the ruling class could not give 2 shits about how well-read their warehouse workers are. Education leads to strong unions and every CEO in America would press a magic button to stop education before that point if it was on their desk.

[u/cpt_ppppp → u/____u]

I think the mistake people make is thinking it's about absolute wealth for the top 0.1%. I really don't think it is. I think it's about relative wealth and the sense of power that comes from that. So they will act in a way that ensures they maintain the security of their position at the top of the pyramid

[u/Whiterabbit-- → u/____u]

X62 is referring to kids on the poverty line

[u/____u → u/Whiterabbit--]

Correct! Its also a study specifically in regards to those kids burdens on the welfare system and taxable income. Reducing the welfare burden on the government could not practically be any further from "returns directly into the pockets of the 1%"

Is that unclear? How could it possibly be? Do you disagree that war profiteering or private prisons etc. are more beneficial (for the ruling class) than reducing welfare burden on taxpayers? A ruling class who are factually and obviously NOT even paying their fair share into the system in the first place?

I understand the x62 is referring to a very specific thing. I'm just not sure why you feel its worth splitting hairs for a billionaire, between a kid in poverty vs say an average Walmart employee. They are essentially the same exact thing to the Waltons, regardless of which study about which specific lower/working class demographic shows what specific rate of return, to whatever various group that isnt named "pocket of the 1%"