Tom Steyer at his office in San Francisco on Nov. 12, 2012. (Karl Mondon/Staff)
Budgets reflect choices. The way we spend our money is not just about economics; it's about our values and priorities. And we, as Americans, have made a disturbing choice.
We have chosen not to support our kids.
We talk a good game, but at the federal and state level, we have systematically chosen to invest in support for seniors, the military, "too big to fail" institutions, prisons -- but we have consistently chosen not to protect and support children.
As a consequence, our next generation faces a future that is more challenging for them personally and a country that may not have the smart, productive workforce it needs to drive the greatest economy in the world.
Consider the facts. We now have more than 16 million children living in poverty, a number not seen since 1962.
Education funding continues to be cut. Children in the U.S. trail those from other countries in math, science and reading. If they do graduate from college or a work-training program, they are often burdened with high levels of debt.
Our level of chronic health problems, such as obesity or asthma, has doubled since 1991, with more than a quarter of our kids now facing these health challenges. That means increased health care costs and lower productivity later in life.
In a nutshell, our next generation is sicker, out of shape, in debt, lacking proper education and less socially mobile than those in the recent past. This is both a moral
outrage and economically foolish.America has been successful because we have invested in the things that matter -- research and development that sparked breakthroughs in science and technology, infrastructure that allowed companies to move products to market efficiently, and education and health, which allowed workers to be productive. Yet in recent years, when it comes to investing in kids, we have failed to step up.
We know, for example, that for every dollar spent on early childhood education, our country sees an $8 return. But half of our children don't have access to early childhood education. Germany, China, India and others are making long-term investments in their kids, while we cut and slash.
We have decided to support seniors, and it has made a dramatic difference in their lives. In 1970, 25 percent of seniors lived in poverty. By 2011 that rate had dropped to less than 9 percent. In contrast, in 1970, 15 percent of kids lived in poverty. In 2011, that number rose to 22 percent.
Americans spend on average more than $26,000 a year in combined federal and state dollars on each senior and less than $12,000 on each child. Our social compact with seniors must continue, but we need to make a similar compact with our kids.
As parents, we know that investment in our kids pays off. But we resist investing in other people's kids, meaning the society our own kids grow up in will be less prosperous and more challenging.
That is why we are helping launch a mobilization effort called Too Small to Fail (www.toosmall.com).
It is a movement for smart investment in our next generation that's as much about personal and private investment as it is about public investment. Parents, businesses and the government at all levels need to do more.
Americans have a choice. We can continue to disinvest in future generations or begin a new period of smart investment that will allow our kids to grow up in a prosperous economy. We vote for the latter.
Tom Steyer is co-founder and managing partner of Farallon Capital Management and a member of the board of the Center for the Next Generation. His brother, Jim Steyer, is president of Common Sense Media and chairs the Next Generation board. They wrote this for this newspaper.
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