Should the government prioritize education more than the economy?

1. 62

   alexandriaruthkposted 12 years ago

   Should the government prioritize education more than the economy?
   
   The main focus of the government and peoples concern is the economy, but how about the education? Education is a value in that nobody can steal them away from you, it drives a nation to be productive.
   
   On the other hand, if the economy is improving the quality of education increases. Which brings us the question, should the government prioritize the economy more than education?

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2. 85

   Leadlightingposted 12 years ago

   To answer it simply - prioritize education in turn prioritizes economy.

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      molometerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      i agree with leadlighting. Education always raises a weak economy. Look at what happened in India in the last 30 years.

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   cebutouristspotposted 12 years ago

   A good balance on both Everything is about balance.

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4. 0

   belleartposted 12 years ago

   Education-most definitely.  Without education, the economy will not prosper.  If we educate the young then they will, in turn, help the economy.
   With education in Ireland not being free anymore, less and less people are going to college and university because they just can't afford it.  Without that level of education, they will be unable to get higher paid, stable jobs.  Unfortunately they just don't have the same opportunities as the educated and with that number dwindling, what is that doing for the country?

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      cfinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Well compared to other countries, E1200 per year is nothing, especially when the likes of the US (including the uni I work for) charge between 21k and 41k per year for undergrads.) Give me a job in ireland and I would take it for my little kids

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      belleartposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      My education is costing a lot more than €1200 a year.   Thanks for belittling it though, 1200 is not 'nothing' to most Irish people!

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   Brenton McDonaldposted 12 years ago

   Tricky! You could argue that if you put money into education you are prioritising the economy.
   
   I work for a not-for-profit employment services company. Government policy in this area is aimed at training people to get them back into the workforce to help the economy.

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6. 65

   Buzzbeeposted 12 years ago

   No matter what country you live in, your country should place the economy above all other considerations, because without money there IS no education.  Teachers, in my experience, are not all volunteers.  Some are, but most require big salaries and benefits, and that takes money.
   
   Education is not important.
   
   If you want to learn something, you really will learn it on your own anyway and the education system is just legalized form of child-cruelty that allows one person (the certified teacher...certified in more ways than one!) to have a captive audience, and a room full of young, tender minds to do what she or he will with them.
   
   I have no illusions about the need for teachers in situations where the student really wants to learn something and cannot on their own.  But how many students fit into this boat when the government gives them no choice but to go to the 'institution' for the best years of their lives and sit there and be humiliated for not participating in 'group-think'.  With the rise of the internet group-think is worse than it ever was.  Social media?  What's that? Just a way to brainwash everyone into knowing what the norms are so they can embrace them or be left out.  It's sad to me. 
   
   The world once had truly unique people--characters if you will. Now it is all cut from the same cloth. Everyone is a Facebook Clone.

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      AlexK2009posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Part of what you say resonates with me, but I think a nation comprised largely of people who cannot read, write, or count would be even worse than the nation of factory fodder produced by the current systems.

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   BoldImaginationposted 12 years ago

   My answer on this is simple. There is a symbiotic relationship between education and the economy. Without an educated workforce the productivity of the economy suffers. This effect becomes even stronger as the workplace becomes more automated. It is not a question whether the government should prioritize education more than the economy. The two go hand-in-hand. Education should be regarded as part of the economy, not isolated from it. There is a synergy that can be produced when education supports business and business supports education.
   
   It has always struck me how politicians and even society as a whole seems to be unaware of the interdependent nature of our social and economic systems. In a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected, it is becoming even more important to identify and manage these relationships. Yes the government should put more money into education but the private sector needs to get involved too. At the end of the day business benefits from the supply of labour education produces.
   
   The one thing that I think needs to be addressed in our educational system is the lack of flexibility for individuality. We are not all the same and we certainly do not learn the same way or develop at the same rate. Secondly we should not continue to teach through rote learning. We need to stimulate creativity, problem solving and critical thinking in the classrooms. I believe that advances in information technology and neuroscience will soon make it possible to personalise education for each individuals needs and stimulate applied learning more effectively than we ever have been able to in the past.
   
   Of course everyone will still need to know the basics but the way we teach it needs to be tweaked for different brains. I will endeavour to write an article on education at some point. It will certainly become a major issue for the West with the rise of China and the need to maintain some form of competitive advantage.

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   conradofontanillaposted 12 years ago

   In the context of balanced budget of the government, education as a budget item can only equal the economy at the most. In the context of deficit budgeting, education can be prioritized over other budget items like defense. However, this is very unlikely like in the United States where Defense usually gets the biggest budget. read more

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   Sveaposted 12 years ago

   They are so tied together, The problem from my standpoint with twenty years teaching college classes is that we have the wrong approach. A liberal arts degree will not get you a job. A Masters degree may not. We have to stop this worship of that as a way to economic security. Middle management is gone; many executive positions are gone. Who had jobs in the recession? Plumbers, skilled workers who could re-model what could not be sold. We need training in hands on work often blue collar that  we used to steer our children away from. We need money to go to specialized, job oriented education but with a good foundation in writing and speaking skills. For the unemployed it needs to be education for the new specialities. We all must look at education as life long or we will be part of the economic problem. Train for jobs that can't be exported.

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10. 67

    Sveaposted 12 years ago

    Every term when I meet my students for the first time I ask them why they are here. There are many I want to advise to leave. They want a good job (picture executive); they want to transfer to a four year college. Their parents want them to get... read more

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11. 88

    alifeofdesignposted 12 years ago

    Thought provoking question with some very interesting replies!
    
    I have been one thought at the moment: chicken or the egg?

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    wildernessposted 12 years ago

    I would point out that all the education in the world won't get you a job if there aren't any to be had.  We see that now, with PHD's working at MacDonalds while everything they've worked for all their lives disappears down the drain.
    
    In addition, without a thriving economy there aren't any funds to pay for a good education.  Borrowing even more to produce college grads that can't find work and use that education seems a little counterproductive.
    
    Bottom line - spending large sums to provide a top notch education won't help those that already have one.  Neither will it help those newly educated people if they can't actually USE that education to support themselves.  The economy must come first.  That doesn't mean that education can disappear from our priority list (it will be needed as the economy improves), just that it should not be in the #1 position.

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    Mr Love Doctorposted 12 years ago

    The government should prioritize making regulations transparent and create one-stop-shops for licensing, regulation, and tax purposes.  The cost of compliance with regulations costs more each year than the cost of Medicare!  As a small business owner, I spend almost as much time and money on compliance as I do on selling my product.  This is ridiculous.  I go from office to office, place to place, local, state, Federal . . . on and on it goes.  It takes far too long and costs far too much.  And then the stupid rules change in a year!  How am I supposed to plan ahead or grow?  I am all for regulation, but the process needs to be easy, transparent, and non-time consuming.  I don't care for tax credits, couldn't care less about tax cuts.  Just tell me WHAT I will pay this year, next year, and for the next ten years.  Then I will figure out how to sell my product and still make a profit.  But if you're always fiddling with the tax code, the  only people who benefit are the big corporations who have thousands of CPA's and lawyers to keep track of the tax changes and special incentives for them!  Simplify, simplify, simplify!  Do this, be predictable, and business will take care of the economy - including education.

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    yodastyleposted 12 years ago

    Yes, we should have prioritized education a long time ago. We will always struggle with the economy, but in the meantime our children could still be benefitting from a committed investment in their education. A well educated population has more longevity than what we do with our money one presidential term to the next.

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    Rhonda_Mposted 12 years ago

    Education is the economy. It's a long term investment. Unfortunately, the pain is in the now, and people feel immediate relief when there's quick fixes. Quick fixes unfortunately don't solve core problems. A lot of smart capable people are shut out of the system because they can't get the necessary qualifications to gain access to better opportunities. There are always clever people who can "make it" without schooling and training, but the vast majority can't, especially when selection criteria for many many jobs are designed to exclude some based on education, training etc. What's worse, is that there is now what is known as "educational inflation"...a masters now required where a BA used to be, a Phd where a Masters once was, a BA is the new highschool, and a Masters is the new BA

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16. 71

    Beth Godwinposted 12 years ago

    While education should be a high priority the economy affects the lives of everyone, not just the educated.  Without a good economy no jobs are available, even for people who are highly educated.

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    Jean.Paraisonposted 12 years ago

    Yes, it should. Why? Because the more educated a citizenry is, the better a nation performs economically. Also, education, I believe, is an issue that should be treated with a sense of urgency. To know how to read, write, count, eat right, think well, correctly analyze, and so on, is not something that you should put off until tomorrow.

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    Doc Snowposted 12 years ago

    I don't know about "more than"--it seems to me that supporting education is, in fact, supporting the economy, albeit on a longer timescale.  For example, the GI Bill has been a huge economic win over time.  (And of course it was a 'twofer' in that it also supported veterans.)

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    Learn Things Webposted 12 years ago

    There are countries with large numbers of unemployed well educated people. So both have to be a priority.

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    Kathryn L Hillposted 12 years ago

    The Government should help us help ourselves. Education is something we should take care of ourselves. I believe in school vouchers and more leeway as far as free choice in type and location of school.  The government needs to stop trying to help us directly. It needs to Facilitate and Empower us to do what we have the WILL to do.  What parent does not want the best for his child?

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    Larry Wallposted 12 years ago

    Prioritize is a word that is often misused--unintentionally-in a lot of cases. Should I set a priority of exercising over eating properly. Should i set a priority of building a deck onto my house instead of paying the debts I owe.
    
    In the case of this question, the two go hand in hand. The economy must be strong, if it is to provide the funding that is needed to make education stronger and available to all people. Now, we need educated people to make the economy stronger.
    
    As a reporter, I covered a lot of political campaigns and there was always one candidate who said government should be run like a business. Each time, I would write a column challenging this view point. Business like practices of accountability must be use. However, the purpose of business is to make a profit. The purpose of government is to provide services to the people. Sometimes, some services can generate revenue that can be used to fund services that do not generate any revenue, but in the long term, can help people get an education, get a job and be contributing members of society.
    
    Therefore, the priority needs to be to do what will help the people and to put a plan that involves economic reform, health reform, education reform and present it as an united approach to solving the problems of each so that all the people can benefit.
    
    If you are employed, you make money each month and to provide for your family to spend a portion on housing, health care, food and education. You do not pay off the house, before you start saving for college and you do not buy health insurance without buying food to keep your family healthy.
    
    It is seldom a case of one or the other. Usually it is a case of addressing a multitude of issues at once, setting priorities to advance some issues, while maintaining the status quo on others until all of the issues can be resolved. It is not easy. No one will will it, but it is a sound approach to dealing with major problems.

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    Garifaliaposted 12 years ago

    These are two intertwined areas. In order to have one you need the other. Investing in education goes much further, though. Decent education and Public Health Plan might make for a better balanced society. After all the government of a country acts as its protector and provider, thus it sets the example for its citizens.

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