A nation spending money on education is an investment in that nations brain power. Sure that money could be spent on some war in some 3rd world toejam hole, our idiotic short sidedness often leads us to make moves that 'benefit' us today at the expense of tomorrow. I graduated from University about 10 years ago and the cost of school then was significantly less than it is today inflation adjusted. Today its cheaper for power players to take other countries educated which they did not pay for, while letting the locals rot. The tide will turn, it always does, the question is how bad does it need to get before it does and at what cost.
EDIT: What was Apple's effective corporate tax rate? What percentage of engineers working for Apple are US citizens or green card holders?
