In today’s modern world it is a constant struggle to stay one step ahead of the competition to try to get the best job.  Many decide that they must pursue a higher education in order to stay on the same level as others in the job market, but we can not start that process without a basic high school education.  Sadly schools around the country are vastly underfunded and often what is given is barely enough for the basic necessities of the students. Within the 2015 fiscal year, the United States Discretionary Spending was $1.11 Trillion of which $69.98 Billion was spent on education.  While this amount seems massive, it is a budget that is divided throughout the 98,817 public schools reported to be in the United States in 2010. This spending on education pales in comparison to the $598.49 Billion spent on the military alone which accounts for 53.71 percent of Discretionary Spending. The public education system is sinking quickly without any end in sight unless we take action.  But you need not worry about reducing the minimal funding the U.S. Military receives, it will be completely unaffected by the education funding with my proposed solution: We offer a vocational course in which students make goods to be sold for profit to add onto the school’s government funding.  By offering this class to high school students, we can improve the quality of their education and of high school’s campus for the benefit of the student.

The benefits of running a class similar to sweatshops would be increasingly beneficial to the education system.  In an article written by Benjamin Powell, he details how much the Bangladesh economy relies on sweatshops in order to function because of a lack of opportunity.  He says that while much of the population lives on less than two dollars a day, many would not be able to survive without these wages.  While sweatshop conditions may be less than optimal in other countries, the conditions within the United States would be at a much higher standard because it is located in a classroom environment.  Since this work would be done as a high school course the companies would need not worry about the pesky minimum wage which is much too high for any logical company. Instead the company could work out a separate deal with the school, perhaps in a dimly lit alley of some sort.  These companies would not only benefit from the lowered cost of production, or ‘cheap labor’ as some may call it, but also help to promote education. While the added funding to schools would help benefit the education of students, this would have further benefits for companies.

The way businesses run their labor may change within the near future and my proposal may offer a solution to this as well. In a recent speech given by our new president Donald Trump, he announced that he would like to encourage companies to keep jobs within the United States. He stated that he would attempt to punish any companies that planned on outsourcing labor outside of the United States. He has referenced imposing a thirty-five percent import tariff on companies that outsource jobs.  This would be a major issue for profits because companies attempt to increase profits through lowered labor costs would then be heavily taxed.  This could all be easily solved through the use of the vocation course programs that would be offered around the country that various companies could take advantage of.  Not only would these companies benefit from the improved cost, but children would also gain experience.

One rising issue within the United States is that many graduates are going into the field with very little to no work experience.  In an article written by Anne Fisher titled “American Millennials are Among the World’s Least Skilled” she details that millennials are one of the most well educated generations yet they lag behind their peers in other countries most likely due to a lack of experience.  While this is an issue for this generation, we can attempt to prevent this from occurring in the current generation by offering vocational classes and teaching skills in order to be more well prepared for the work force. In a recent study conducted by high school student, Jesus Nuno, he showed that future students could benefit from having acquired experience from these types of classes where students would learn important life skills for the work force. He measured the amount of experience that a student would get with and without these classes and the numbers were staggering.

With the changing standards on importation, a generation lacking experience and a lack of funding, it would seem that the next reasonable step would be to incorporate this ‘sweatshop’ class into schools across the country.  It would solve the massive issues that have developed in recent years and would benefit children across the nation.  I hope that with all this new information, this possibility becomes a reality.

Work Consulted
Durden, Tyler. "Trump Warns US Companies There Will Be "Consequences" For Outsourcing Jobs." Zero Hedge. Zero Hedge, 30 Nov. 2016. Web. 19 Feb. 2017.
"Federal Spending: Where Does the Money Go." National Priorities Project. National Priorities Project, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
Fisher, Anne. "American Millennials Are among the World’s Least Skilled." Fortune. Fortune,
10 Mar. 2015. Web. 19 Feb. 2017.
Powell, Benjamin. "Sweatshops In Bangladesh Improve The Lives Of Their Workers, And Boost Growth." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 02 May 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2017.