Our Economic Future Depends on Investing in Children Now

by Elanna S. Yalow, Tags: early childhood education, economic prosperity, John Spratt, Michael Mandel, Partnership for America's Economic Success, Robert Dugger

You’ve heard the arguments before, but last week the Partnership for America’s Economic Success (PAES) hosted a National Economic Forum on Early Childhood Investment in Washington DC. This conference continued to champion the importance of investments in early childhood education as essential to the economic prosperity of our country.

Attending the conference were a wide range of business leaders, policy experts, educators, and government officials, Democrats and Republicans, united (surprisingly) in their recognition that investing in children is both a moral and economic imperative. In his opening remarks, Robert Dugger, Managing Partner for the Hanover Investment Group and founder of PAES, outlined 5 key principles for allocating state and federal resources:

• Human Capital – To achieve growth and fiscal sustainability, government should place its greatest emphasis on strengthening the skills and capacities of every American
• Young Children – Our nation should focus especially on children, from before birth to five years of age, and their families
• Evaluation – Return on investment should be a key consideration in public resource allocation decisions
• Transparency – Government should enable citizens to understand and participate in the assessment of all revenue and spending decisions
• Sustainability – State and federal budgets should be viable over the long term

While Michael Mandel, former Chief Economist of Business Week, made a compelling economic case for investing in early childhood education, Representative John Spratt (D-South Carolina) provided a sobering reminder of the broader economic challenges facing our country and the competing priorities for our limited resources.

Investments take time and patience, and political horizons are often short, seeking only immediate returns. While it is easy to feel skeptical, disillusioned and disenfranchised with the muddled state of affairs in Washington, it is more important than ever to raise your voice on behalf of your children and children throughout our country.

Our representatives need to know that children come first and that our economic future and security depends on that investment—and, in turn, that your support depends on their wisdom and courage to stand up for children. Reach out to your local and national representatives with this message.

Let your voice be heard. Every year more than 4 million children are born in this country, and every year that we compromise their future is a year that they can never get back–nor can we.