As another example of how so many social institutions -- and by implication, social problems -- are interrelated, according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education, a new study argues that if we can reduce by half the high school dropout rate, that could save the country $45 billion dollars each year:

The savings would come from reduced costs in the welfare and criminal justice systems. Currently, the overall U.S. dropout rate hovers around 30 percent, but the problem is particularly severe for Blacks and Hispanics, as about half of those students drop out each year. . . .

“A recent study for California’s prison system estimated that if you’re a minority male [and] you were a high school dropout, your chances of spending some time in the prison system before you were 35 were 100 percent,” Belfield says. “You had virtually no chance, if you’re a minority dropout, of avoiding some interaction with the criminal justice system.” For minorities who graduate high school, the likelihood of being involved in the criminal justice system drops dramatically, he says. . . .

The study highlights five strategies to boost high school graduation rates. Of these interventions, two take place in preschool, one in elementary school, one in high school and one throughout the K-12 years. Among successful school strategies, the study cities small-size schools, personalization, high academic expectations, strong counseling, parental engagement, extended time in school and competent and appropriate personnel.

I commend the authors for reinforcing what so many of us have been saying all along -- that if American society wants to legitimately address the problem of crime, welfare dependency, and unemployment, we need to attack the root cause of the problem -- lack of opportunities due to having no education. So with that in mind, I never cease to be completely dumbfounded whenever governors and the federal administration continue to cut education budgets across the board.

In the face of overwhelming evidence such as this most recent study that shows the benefits of giving our young people a good quality education, why is education treated with so much blatant disregard and even contempt in so many political circles?