The issue with education is that it's not just about the jobs. There are lots of other positive externalities that aren't as easy to account for. Things like

The issue with education is that it's not just about the jobs. There are lots of other positive externalities that aren't as easy to account for. Things like financial literacy, political literacy, economic mobility, and a whole slew of intellectual tools that can help them later in life regardless of job. Personally, I'm totally ok with making college just as mandatory as high school as long as it doesn't place an undue burden on individuals. Some food for thought: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/11/education-gap-explains-american-politics/575113/ https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/11/educat... Also, we know that education rates skew heavily with SES. It's much more an issue of availability and quality of education than it is some kids being dumb or something...