To be slightly less flip at some point you reach the point of duminishing returns where the money could do more good elsewhere. Also, the overwhelming majority of education interventions don't scale.
I think the parent made a very obvious point. Correctional facilities (i.e. prisons) are much more expensive than decent public education up front; and this primarily applies to troubled students.
Or even just in allowing people to live in the community, and earn a wage (even if it's a subsidised one) rather than needing to be institutionalised or have round the clock care (the original context was yummyfajitas' use of the word 'retard').
And there's the other point - do you really want to live in such a dog-eat-dog society?
I totally agree. Actually, I only didn't make that point because the benefits productive/happy members of society are less obvious. So what if some of these kids become baggers at WalMart? That is much better than someone who can't live on their own or hold any job down at all.
