The well-being of our nation depends , not on the accumulation of wealth, but on the human capital- the knowledge, skills, and attitudes possessed by our people -- possessed by our people. It is (1) that knowledge and skills which enables to develop and successfully implement the technologies which enable us to be highly productive, and (2) the attitudes and values which lead us to strive, to create and sustain opportunity, and to strive for fairness.
At the end of World War II, we had a huge economic boom. Economists studying sought to use data to explain what caused that boom. They found at about 40,0 percent of that growth could not be explained by normal factors. Eventually they decided that was the added impetus was the G. I. BILL, which rewarded our returning veterans by creating new educational opportunities for them. Their growth in knowledge and skills both created new technologies and provided the skills to implement those technologies. That G.I. Bill was the greatest economic development act in our history.
Today, the Republican Party seems intent on limiting our growth in human capital. At state and local levels, they are not funding public education at an adequate level, limiting the learning of our young people. They are refusing to do anything to make a college education or vocational training more affordable for our young people. Spending money well on creating better opportunity for post-secondary education would dramatically increase our human capital, resulting in vastly increased economic growth and opportunity. Those politicians are being simply stupid, immoral, and unpatriotic.