Originally Posted by Dude
Originally Posted by madeinuk
I am from the UK like ColinsMum and I benefited from the same system. I truly cannot understand how this country pays so much incarcerating its citizens but refuses to spend on cultivating its best and brightest.

You can invest a handful of thousands in someone for a few years (and not just your best and brightest), and then mine them for income taxes for a couple of generations. Or, you can ignore their needs when they're young, then imprison them at far greater expense for a couple of generations.
http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66
National Center for Education Statistics
Quote
Total expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools in the United States amounted to $638 billion in 2009-10, or about $12,743 per public school student.
That is $153K over 12 years, for the majority, not just the "best and brightest".