With the oft-stated goal of US education through high school being the creation of students who are "college and career ready"...

and with previous non-US posters sharing the sense of meritocracy in continuing higher education in their area...

and with other posters comparing incarceration costs to educational costs...

I personally DO see the connection between Bostonian's most recent post and the OP's article...

as well as a strong connection between that post and the overall flow of conversation, addressing concerns raised by several posters...

The US *is* investing in the education of all individuals.