Ralph Smith, EVP of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, was invited by Colorado's Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien to be the keynote speaker at the Early Childhood Progress & Possibilities Symposium hosted by the CO Dept of Education's Early Childhood Learning Commission on 11/18/10. Smith highly recommended reading James E. Heckman's letter to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility on Budget Reform urging US Senators to invest in early childhood. "How can we best invest in human capital development to increase workforce capabilities, raise productivity and social cohesion and assure America’s economic competitiveness in the global economy? Data from economists, social scientists and medical experts conclusively shows that the answer is to invest in comprehensive early childhood development—from birth to age five—particularly in disadvantaged children and their families. [emphasis mine)] I strongly urge you to keep this in mind when recommending ways in which to reduce America’s debt and increase its productivity. Ignoring this finding will put our country’s future in peril by producing a deficit of human capital that will take generations to correct. ~ James E. Heckman, Recipient, Nobel Prize in Economics |
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Investing in Human Capitalposted Dec 2, 2010 9:20 PM by Read Aloud Denver [ updated Dec 2, 2010 10:23 PM ] |