Education

"In Finland, for instance, citizens are entitled to state funded educational, medical, and welfare services, literally from the cradle to the grave. Finns pay nothing, ever, for education, including both infant and child care as well as medical and law school_ to say nothing of their monthly stipend for expenses. And they produce perhaps the best educational test results in the world. (This is true even though they don't go in for standardized tests.) According to 2003 OECD surveys, Finland ranks no 1 in student reading ability, no 1 in student science ability, no 2 in student problem-solving ability, and no 2 in student mathematics ability. The United States, by contrast, ranks no 12, no 19, no 26, and no 24 respectively. See the OECD report. (From Eric Alterman's book: Why We're Liberals.)

If we were an equal opportunity society, we would also fully, publicly fund higher education for qualified students. Scandinavian countries do this and, not surprisingly, their educational outcomes are the best. The US ranks near or at the bottom. See UNICEF report, The Children Left Behind.

"The idea that inequality is justified as a reflection of differences in merit cannot reasonably be applied to children. Few would deny that children’s early circumstances are beyond their own control. Or that those early circumstances have a profound effect on their present lives and future prospects. Or that growing up in poverty incurs a substantially higher risk of lower standards of health, of reduced cognitive development, of underachievement at school, of lower skills and aspirations, and eventually of lower adult earnings, so helping to perpetuate disadvantage from one generation to the next. None of this is the fault of the child." (From the UNICEF report)