According to the National Governors Association only 43% of high school dropouts are employed. My math, which I learned in high school, suggests that if we are graduating 3 million high school students a year at a 70% graduation rate (i.e., 30% of this year's entering freshmen class will not graduate), then we are producing 730,000 non-workers per year. Translation - high schools produce 730,000 "students" who go on the dole every year. Nice job America! That's the road to prosperity.

Another fact from NGA - on average a high shool dropout earns $21 thousand per year less than a college graduate. That amounts to almost $1 million in lost income over a lifetime. More good economic news!

High school dropouts cost America $16 billion per year in lost productivity according to a 2005 Harvard University research study. Wow!

And one other troubling fact from NGA - the percentage of college students earning degrees in science, math, and engineering - China 59%, South Korea 46%, European Union 36%, and the U.S. 29%. I agree with Thomas Friedman. The world is flat. But I might add one more wrinkle to Friedman's thesis - The world is flat, and the U.S. is falling into the sea.

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive