"..a technocratic economic policy that focuses on the dissemination of skills as a way to reduce inequality in a technology-dependent economy."

Having an education up to 8th grade only prepares you for basic jobs, like minimum-wage jobs.

"[the state] argued that once students had completed eighth grade, the public schools had met their responsibility to enable children “to eventually function productively as civic participants.” Not coincidentally, the state argued that this education level was adequate preparation for minimum-wage labor."

"Consensus thus emerged in the 1980s around vocational education’s essential role in global economic competitiveness. At the same time, economists drew closer connections between education and inequality. By the early 1990s, economists had identified technological change, which biased available jobs toward high-skilled workers, as the primary culprit."

"Thomas Piketty writes, “Historical experience suggests that the principal mechanism for convergence [of incomes and wealth] at the international as well as the domestic level is the diffusion of knowledge""

"This understanding begins with the recognition that fair economic outcomes are aided by a robust democratic process and, therefore, by genuine political equality. Thus an education focused not merely on technical skills, but also on what I call participatory readiness, provides a distinct and better way to promote equality through schooling."

"..twenty-four state courts “have explicitly held that preparation for capable citizenship is a primary purpose of public education.."

"If political choices determine the rules that shape distributive patterns, it makes sense to focus first on political, not economic, equality. And if we choose political equality as our orienting ideal—empowering all to participate capably in the life of a polity—a different view of education’s purpose, content, and consequence comes into view."

"The ideal civic agent carries out all three of these tasks—disinterested deliberation, prophetic frame shifting, and fair fighting—ethically and justly."

"..massively increased investment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education—STEM—and correspondingly reduced outlays for the humanities."

"..National Academy of Sciences’ Rising above the Gathering Storm again emphasized the need for significant improvements in science and technology education.."

"2016 State of the Union address, the president announced a Computer Science for All initiative that would make students “job-ready on day one.”"

"the wage premium on skill can explain only part of growing U.S. income inequality: political forces shape distributive outcomes, and there are limits to how much the advantages of education can be moderated through the dissemination of technological skills."