The Minnesota Vikings have an active roster limit of 53
players. Meanwhile, the state of Minnesota has a 100,000 times larger “active
roster” of residents: 5.3 million.
I like the Vikings; I hope they stay in Minnesota. However, does
retaining one sports franchise and saving the jobs of approximately 53 athletes
seem as important as preserving thousands of jobs and businesses in Minnesota
for employers and workers of all types? No matter what the outcome of the
stadium controversy, how can we shift our attention toward a topic that even former
Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton contends is far more important: the
education of our population and the implications it has for our future
workforce.
Do sports facilities help regions and their businesses to compete
economically? Absolutely no evidence suggests that they do; in fact, some
studies suggest the opposite. Does an educated population increase economic
competitiveness? Most certainly yes.
Legislators who have read the materials assembled by their
own Minnesota Legislative Reference Library have seen the evidence that new
sports facilities will not help their constituents economically.
A Brookings Institution publication concludes, “A new sports
facility has an extremely small (perhaps even negative) effect on overall
economic activity and employment.” Economists at the University of Maryland
assert that “economists have found no evidence of positive economic impact of
professional sports teams and facilities on urban economies.” The Cato
Institute, which views research through the lens of “limited government, free
markets, individual liberty, and peace,” states a similar conclusion after its
analysis of the effects of sports facilities: “Claims of large tangible economic
benefits do not withstand scrutiny.”
If we the taxpayers want to subsidize teams and pay for new
buildings – because we want sports here in our state – that’s great. We should
promote that amenity. However, we cannot delude ourselves regarding economic
impact.
In contrast, evidence does demonstrate the significant
economic returns of strong educational performance among our students and of a
well-prepared workforce. A 2010 report from the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) explains how increases in cognitive skills,
resulting from increasing the effectiveness of educational systems, enhance
economic growth. This falls into line with what economists have come to accept
over the past two decades: that better educational attainment for a nation’s
population results in greater economic growth for that nation.
How does an educated labor force produce better economic
results? A Brookings analysis, which also documented the positive impacts of
preschool education, suggests: “A more educated labor force is more mobile and
adaptable, can learn new tasks and new skills more easily, and can use a wider
range of technologies and sophisticated equipment (including newly emerging
ones). It is also more autonomous and thus needs less supervision, and is more
creative in thinking about how to improve the management of work.”
Better education has other benefits as well. It is
associated with better health and with greater lifetime earnings for
individuals. Both of these translate into positive societal outcomes for all of
us.
So, what about Minnesota? We face a demographic challenge. About
25 percent of the children in our state are children of color; this percentage
will grow substantially. That means, in the not-too-distant future, at least 25
percent of our work force, parents, and community leaders will be people of
color. As you know, the educational achievement gap between white students and
students of color jeopardizes that future. For example, about 85 percent of
white third-graders meet state reading standards, while only 60 percent of
third-graders of color perform at that level. About 83% of white students
graduate from high school on time; only about 53% of students of color do so.
(See Minnesota Compass.)
The achievement gap leaves our future work force short on
the cognitive skills critical for economic well-being. McKinsey and Company
contend that the existence of the achievement gap imposes the equivalent of a
“permanent national recession” on our economy. McKinsey estimates that closing
this gap could have a positive impact on the nation’s economy of $1.3 to 2.3 trillion
dollars.
Let’s do more long-term thinking about what will maintain
the quality of life for Minnesotans and retain our competitiveness. Long range
thinking that will lead to meaningful improvements in the skills of our young
people in Minnesota requires boldness and risk-taking. Public officials often
avoid it, because they feel that long term promises do not win elections. As
the OECD notes, “Because the benefits of educational investments are seen only
in the future, it is possible to underestimate the value and the importance of
improvements.”
No comment from me on whether and where to build a football
facility. However, for the future of our state, we must change the front page
conversation from “stadium yes or no” to “education and workforce yes or no.”
