 The cost of that increase in national service slots would be less than one half of one percent of the proposed economic stimulus package, which is projected to be at least $700 billion. It would create meaningful service work for Americans at about one-fifth the cost per person of an infrastructure job. It would reinforce the social services safety net at a time when it is needed most. And, finally, it would deliver enormous return on investment and promote unity and civic engagement. Studies show that investments in national service already deliver up to $3.90 in direct economic benefits: children tutored, playgrounds constructed, homeless men and women fed, hurricane victims housed. But there are also indirect benefits that are enormous, and difficult to calculate: young Americans headed for dropout who instead graduate from high school and college and go on to work and pay taxes; Americans who are helped off, or kept off, welfare; sick Americans who are connected with health care providers instead of emergency rooms; unemployed Americans who are retrained or helped with job hunting; Americans who are kept out of prison; the list goes on. A look at the high school dropout crisis is particularly useful in trying to gauge the potential impact and benefits of investing in service. According to The Department of Education, more than 21,000 teens dropped out of school during the 2005-2006 school year. If that dropout rate could be cut in half, studies show, the U.S. government would receive $45 billion in additional tax revenue and reduced costs in public health, crime, and welfare payments. An investment in an Education Corps to tackle the high school dropout crisis—as proposed by President-elect Obama and the Serve America Act--could take us toward that goal at a cost that is just a fraction of those savings. Here’s how. More than 50% of the high school dropouts in America come from just 2,000 high schools. Creating an Education Corps of 50,000 to focus on those schools (25 per school) would cost about $900 million a year. That’s a lot of money, But if each Corps Member could tutor and mentor 10 of the most at-risk kids at that school, we could impact the 250 most at-risk kids at each school, and 500,000 at-risk kids across America. And if 25 Education Corps members in a school could help just an additional handful of kids graduate each year, we would be well on our way to halving the dropout rate and pocketing most of that projected $45 billion in savings. Another way to look at this is to take the fact the estimated difference between the lifetime earnings of a high school graduate and a high school dropout is $300,000. That means if the Education Corps could help just two more kids a year graduate from those 2,000 schools, the additional lifetime earnings of those extra graduates alone (which is a measure of economic activity generated) would easily exceed the annual investment in the Education Corps (and that’s not even counting the indirect savings from reduced crime, prison, welfare costs, etc). Of course, if the 25 Education Corp members at each school could do better than two additional graduates a year, the savings only multiply. Can 25 Education Corps members in a school help 2-5 extra kids graduate each year? That’s an investment America should be more than willing to make. If you like this kind of content, sign up for an NCoC.net account and we'll customize your homepage recommendations based on your interests..
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