> ...A short news item on the front page of the Wall Street Journal 11-14-96
> stated (as paraphrased):
>
> An economist at the Univ. of Illinois, W. Randall Kangas, has calculated
> the return to the state on its investment in higher education. For every
> dollar the state invests in undergraduates at the Univ of IL, the state
> gets back $4.31 in taxes over time. His study is based on the earnings
> gap between college and high school graduates. The college graduates'
> greater earning capability results in the state receiving more taxes on
> the higher income. This translates to a 6% real return on investment for
> the state.
I'm from Montana and we value education for the reasons you speak of for
the most part...but you have to remember the man in the Insurance business
in Maryland who invested the monies in rebuilding a slum area that
included education programs a couple of years ago. Sixty minutes aired it.
He went to jail for fraud. Investing insurance funds in people was
considered to be too risky an investment. I think you'll find that a FEW
not so intelligent people in Montana (and there are just a few) are over
reacting to the numbers of Indians actually completing higher ed. degrees
in the last few years...quite a scary thought when there are six
Reservations in such a rural State! Who know what might happen if it
continues!! The Tribal Colleges deserve the credit for creating an
environment in which people want to learn and use what they learn to help
their communities.