Federal Reserve Chairman Advocates For Early Childhood Education

I thought we would  repost short article for our friends.  This comes from Economix, New York Times March 2nd , 2011 Reporting on Ben Bernacke hearing to Senate Finance Committee.

Bernanke for Early Childhood Education?
By CATHERINE RAMPELL

Traditionally, Federal Reserve chairmen have generally avoided wading into fiscal
policy matters, in order to help preserve the independence of the Fed. The Fed,
after all, sets monetary policy, and it doesn t want politicians sticking their noses into
interest rates either. My how times have changed. On Wednesday, the Fed chairman,
Ben S. Bernanke, not only gave an entire speech about the spending and taxation
challenges facing local governments but explicitly advocated against cuts to education spending: Budget balance and budget
stability are important fiscal issues. In the long run, though,
the most important fiscal issue is whether the structure and
composition of the government budget best serves the public interest.
Certainly, most people would support the goal of fostering healthy
economic growth. Government can contribute to this objective
in a number of ways. One critical means is by ensuring an
adequate investment in human capital that is, in the knowledge
and skills of our people. No economy can succeed without a high-quality
workforce, particularly in an age of globalization and technical change.
Cost-effective K-12 and post-secondary schooling are crucial to building
a better workforce, but they are only part of the story. Research
increasingly has shown the benefits of early childhood education and
efforts to promote the lifelong acquisition of skills for both individuals
and the economy as a whole. The payoffs of early childhood
programs can be especially high. For instance, preschool programs

for disadvantaged children have been shown to increase high school
graduation rates. Because high school graduates have higher earnings,
pay more taxes, and are less likely to use public health programs,
investing in such programs can pay off even from the narrow perspective
of state budgets; of course, the returns to the overall economy and to the
individuals themselves are much greater.Then again, it s not as if public
education is totally outside his realm of expertise. Before he became a
monetary maestro, Mr. Bernanke served on his local school board.