This state’s higher education system is faltering. Students are being turned away, yet employers say there are not enough trained workers to fill all of the job vacancies.
That’s from an editorial in today’s Olympian: “Tuition can be a barrier to college.”
I’m not the kind of person who likes to beat a dead horse. No wait… yes I am. And so I keep pointing out editorial after editorial (and blog after blog) about our failure to properly fund higher education, and the inevitable economic decline that will result. For example, take a look at the Olympian’s estimates of average income by educational level:
-$18,900 for a person who has not graduated from high school.
-$25,900 for a high school graduate.
-$31,200 for a person with some college education.
-$33,000 for a student with an AA degree.
-$45,400 for a bachelor’s degree.
Just as individuals invest in their own future by attending college, our state invests in our future economy by making college more accessible. Education consumes the single largest chunk of our state and local taxes, so when Tim Eyman talks about eliminating “government waste” this is what he has in mind.
You get what you pay for. If we buy ourselves a second-rate educational system, our children will inherit a second-rate economy.
