You Do the Math
In the midst of today’s financial crisis, it’s easy for people to suggest a cut in education. Before they do, maybe they should consider this quick case study comparing the cost of incarcerating a prisoner in New York to educating a student in the Harlem Children’s Zone founded by one of my heroes Geoffrey Canada (pictured below).
The cost of state prison for 30,000 inmates is:
900 Million Dollars a year ($30,000 per inmate)
11.7 Billion Dollars over the course of thirteen years
In return you get …
- $0, Nada, Nothing on your investment!
The cost of educating 30,000 students in the Harlem Children’s Zone would be:
360 Million Dollars a year ($12,000 per student)
4.7 Billion Dollars over the course of thirteen years (K-12)
In return you get …
- A savings of $18,000 per year for every student that does not end up in prison.
- Significant tax revenues from an average lifetime salary of 2.1 million dollars for every student who graduates from college and 1.2 million for every student who graduates from high school.
- Untold savings accrued by a lower rate of crime, teenage pregnancy, welfare, etc.
- An opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and truly change the life of a child and their future children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great-great grandchildren .… you get the point.
Can we really afford not to invest in a quality education for our kids? You do the math.