Head Start

This article is fantastic.

The author argues that preschool programs like Head Start are necessary to thwart the high cost of illiteracy and incarceration. His main points are:

1. "[B]y waiting until kindergarten [to spend money on education], we throw money at kids when it's too late."
2. "Early-childhood nurturing has traditionally been the province of families. But families are deteriorating."
3. Kids who received early childhood education "were more likely to be employed—and to earn more—and less likely to be on welfare. They also committed less crime and had lower rates of teen pregnancy."
4. Preschool spending, with a rate of return around 16%, is a "sound economic investment."

Promoting early childhood education isn't about doing the "right" thing, it's about doing the logical thing. Investing in early childhood education raises our standard of living and costs less in the long run.

According to CNN, one billion was cut from the Head Start program. Won't we just pay for this later?