The best investment we can make as a community and as a nation is in our educational system. No less an authority than Fed chief Alan Greenspan testified before Congress on productivity and the American economy in 1999, stating that technology and a highly productive work force have boosted the efficiency of our economy for the benefit of all.

However, rising productivity cannot continue, he warned, unless we improve our educational system. He understands clearly that our knowledge-based economy requires a highly educated workforce to continue the remarkable growth we have seen in the past 20 years.

Despite the fact that we have one of the most highly educated work forces in the world, Greenspan alludes to the fact that our system is flawed in that income inequality remains a major concern. Many families are not able to share in the rising standard of living that our economy has produced. And, since higher incomes and increased education go hand in hand, it seems clear that more education would seem to be the best chance people have of escaping poverty.

During the economic retraction that began in 2000, we have seen unemployment rates spike up. A large part of the spike has come at the expense of less-educated workers. Skills increasingly pay well and provide better job security in the New Economy. This has become all the more clear since the start of this downturn. The jobless rate for those with no high school diploma has risen faster than for those with only a high school education. And both have a higher jobless rate compared to those with at least some college education.

A wide array of benefits, besides increased incomes, comes from better education. Skilled workers get better fringe benefits, such as health care, which in turn lessens the demands on public welfare. As they earn more, they are able to save and eventually invest in homes, buy automobiles, and in turn educate their children. With higher incomes they have an opportunity to save and invest for retirement. These savings and investments all contribute to an improving economic capital base.

A better-educated, more productive work force generates higher incomes and pays more income taxes to government. More government revenue enables government to do more for the public, without the burdens of more government debt, and/or gives the government the option of returning excess revenues back to its citizens in the form of tax cuts.

It also stands to reason that a more productive work force will rely less on government financial support. Being able to stand on one’s own feet financially builds self-esteem and greater independence, which lead to a better quality of life.

Studies have shown that people with higher incomes generally enjoy better health and live longer. Since they are more educated and have higher incomes, they are able to plan and make better decisions when it comes to family financial matters.

Despite all of the positive statements about improving our educational system, the politics of getting this done are complicated and never-ending. Control of education has typically resided on the local, community level. And the bulk of the funding for education has come from local resources—property and other taxes. Too often, the “anti-anything” forces draw a line in the sand when it comes to increasing local taxes to pay for education.

This is shortsightedness at its worst…the tax burden that we are called upon to share to support our local education is a very small price to pay for a better economy, better communities, and a higher standard of living across the board.