On Fantasy Football + Education

I grew up in Western Pennsylvania so I am a rabid Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Naturally, growing up I loathed the Dallas Cowboys and more currently the New England Patriots. Recently I started playing Fantasy Football. One of my wide receivers is Terrence Williams from the Cowboys and my tight end is Rob Gronkowski from the Patriots. Why did I draft players from these teams? Because they were the best at their positions that were available. I now find myself rooting for once-hated teams. When they play the Steelers I find myself in a win-win situation. If the Steelers win - great! And if the Cowboys or Patriots win, most likely my fantasy team players have done well and I am consoled. I find myself actually talking to my friends from Boston during football season – this year quizzing them on when the injured Gronkowski would be able to play again and reveling when he did. We had something in common.

As a once student of economics, it occurred to me that we should change our nation’s economic model to something akin to Fantasy Football. We could call it Fantasy Economics. On second thought that's redundant. Okay, I got it:  

Bread Winner.

The goal in Bread Winner is to have the highest financial earnings for your team. It would start with a nationwide draft. Every team has to draft players from a different position. The positions are things such as one millionaire (I'd draft Warren Buffet or George Soros if I could get him), several union members, small business owners, middle managers, factory workers, and so on. Red state members would team up with blue state members if they were the best in their position. Democrats with Republicans. Every team also has to have at least one student, one illegal immigrant, one artist, and one unemployed person.You're stuck with your team for five years or maybe even a decade. No free agents. At the end of each year, everyone's economic performance (money earned) is added up then divvied up. One's economic well-being depends on the performance of everyone on their team using a proportional weighted-average based on financial contribution, age, education etc. 

If your illegal immigrant obtains citizenship your combined financial performance could increase significantly. Let's say your unemployed team member is unemployed because he or she has a mental illness. Getting them psychological counseling and proper medications could make a huge difference. Or maybe they are a high school dropout. If assistance was available to get their GED and a college education, their contribution could potentially skyrocket. There would be bonus points if certain milestones are achieved by team members such as citizenship, obtaining a job, getting a raise, getting a diploma. If someone dies you lose his or her points for the decade. Definitely better if everyone on your team has good health insurance. 

Imagine how it would bridge the gap between Democrats and Republicans. Imagine how quickly immigration reform would be passed. Mental health care. A higher minimum wage…

This is a microcosm of how economics works. We're all in this together. We are like one big team. If the minimum wage goes up, those employees spend more money and their children benefit. We as a society are then better off. It's a bonus for us. It's a win-win.

Why do I bring this up? Because there are many that believe the real issue with public education today is poverty. 

Think about it. A child is poor. He cannot afford good food so it is hard for him to concentrate in school. Maybe his parents are sick and cannot work. They probably don't have health insurance which perpetuates their illness. Or they don't work for whatever reason which sets a very bad example for their children. They are depressed so they don't do a good job raising their kids. It's depressing to be poor. They drink or take drugs because they can't bear their lives Or they have to work two or three jobs which means they are not there to guide, counsel and oversee their children properly. They most likely live in a lousy and probably dangerous neighborhood. If their child needs a tutor they can't afford it. If their child has learning disabilities, they don't have the resources to diagnose them and treat them properly. The list goes on. 

What if we did this? Make sure every child has a preschool education, healthy food, safe neighborhoods, adequate health care, and proper clothing, Of course we want the parents to provide that. It is their duty to provide that. But some can't. Some just don't. And if that is the case, it is not the child's fault. But it is our fault if we abandon them. It is our loss. It becomes our problem. 

The number of high school dropouts is still over 3 million students annually. In Los Angeles County, the Hispanic and African American dropout rate is 32.3% and 41% respectively. Wow! What are these kids going to do? How are they going to pay my social security when I retire? Why aren't people more alarmed by this? Among dropouts, incarceration rates are a whopping 63 times higher than among college graduates. When compared to the typical high school graduate - a dropout will end up costing taxpayers an average of $292,000 over a lifetime due to the price tag associated with incarceration and other factors such as how much less they pay in taxes. 

According to the American Community Survey, more than one in five children in the U.S. lived in poverty (2010). That is 15.75 million children. This rate is the highest since the survey began. Children who live in poverty, especially young children, are more likely than their peers to have cognitive and behavioral difficulties, to complete fewer years of education, and, as they grow up, to experience more years of unemployment. I haven't run a regression analysis for a long-time, but it doesn't take an economist to see the correlation between the poverty rate and the high school dropout rate, and the devastation if reeks on our economy.

Let’s consider helping these children! Let's start with raising the minimum wage, embracing the Affordable Care Act (and making it functional), funding Head Start to pre-sequestration levels (at the very least), and passing immigration reform. Children everywhere are on our team! And because of that, we all have something in common. We are all on Team USA.

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