I think they forgot a comma. "Economically, gifted students are likely to have an outsized impact" If there's a sensible read of someone's comment it's prefera

I think they forgot a comma. "Economically, gifted students are likely to have an outsized impact" If there's a sensible read of someone's comment it's preferable to use that interpretation. "Economically gifted" makes no sense in the context of the discussion. The OP was saying your tax dollars are likely to get a good return by fostering the progress of gifted students.