Total Cost of Wars Since 2001 $1,671,742,966,972

Every hour, taxpayers in the United States are paying
$8.36 million for Total Cost of Wars Since 2001.

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/

. . .how many people wouldn't plea bargain to go to junior college instead of jail?

Going to jail leads to harder criminals. Going to college might prevent the next recidivist.

The "affluenza" kid?

Send him to school.

And if any of the police officers in the Gray case in Baltimore get convicted, offer to spring for an associate's degree for them.

Taxpayers get screwed, but private security and other contractors make lots of money, jails where industry becomes a "partner" to "train and employ" prisoners make lots of money, investors are happy, and excess population that would otherwise be demanding living wages, respect, and a change in the business culture to reflect actual economic reality (as opposed to a investor/casino economy) are taken swept out of the political sphere - pretty much permanently.

Disaster capitalism in action. A few people are getting very, very wealthy and very, very comfortable in their personal reality, and they want to keep it that way.

Haele

College isn't for everyone.

I spent four years at my state's flagship public university in the 1980s. Then it had the largest enrollment in the country. I can guaran-damn-tee that 15-20% of the kids had no idea why they were there or what to do. It was a place to kill time, because in those days tuition was about $400 per quarter.

And the world will always need medical technicians, plumbers, carpenters, electrcians and many other skilled trades which cannot be outsourced and can be unionized.

birth to age 3 are the most crucial formative years.
After that, it's up to 8 years of age that is the next most crucial time, developmentally.
We need to take care of our children (they are all ours) and raise them to be upstanding, productive, people who can think for themselves.

After a good childhood, they can become a plumber or a roofer or a nurse or a dentist or a real estate agent or a doctor. College or no college, every kid deserves a good start.

it's what the elites favor. They don't want an educated populace fighting back and they sure aren't going to pay for it.

from putting people in the slammer. From public education, no.

Uneducated people are easy to mislead.

spending any money on at-risk youth is considered SOCIALISM, but taxpayers footing huge bills for the prison-for-profit program is just plain CAPITALISM