Crops of the Future

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The Crops of the Future

In the world of economics, citizens of America are crops of productivity to be harvested. Some grow into attractive stacks of bills, while others dwindle down into piles of dirt-covered pennies. Like any crop, nutrients are needed for growth. The most important nutrient is education. The more information we invest in a person, the more productive he or she will eventually become. That is why high school and college are extremely important in the lives of Americans. With our unemployment rate as high as 8.9 percent, there must be a change. Ever since the Employment Act of 1946, the government has had the duty of achieving low unemployment rates. Investment in education leads to productivity increases, and creation of jobs will follow. An investment in education to increase human capital will lead to an increase in real GDP and a decrease in unemployment.

Each laborer is as important as the next. Every American needs to be at the pinnacle of his or her attainable intelligence in order to achieve greatness in this world, and there is only one way to achieve this – education. Unfortunately, America’s education system is relatively ineffective when compared to other nations. According to the Programme for International Student Assessment’s (PISA) report released in December 2010, America has fallen below a third the world in educational testing. The children from other countries will continue to be more productive than their American counterparts if today’s educational system remains unchecked. If Americans do not wish to be second best in the world, the government must step in. It is a war for resources and money across the world, and this country needs every dollar it can get. Education giv...

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of Economic Studies 34, no. 3 (July 1967): 249-283. In addition, Zvi Griliches, "Notes on the Role of Education in Production Functions and Growth Accounting," In Education, Income, and Human Capital, edited by W. Lee Hansen. 71-127, (New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1970).

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