One of the highest truth/word comments I've read in a long time. The real issue with education in America is that everyone a) thinks it is someone else's problem and b) thinks if they just change x we will rocket to the top.
We don't actually spend all that much money on public education relative to GDP. Many people consider it reasonable to spend more money on their child's collage degree than the full cost the cost of a K-12 at a public school which depending on the state can be as low as 80k.
We also still spend a lot of money on the students who least need it. Due to the influence of property values on education spending often the most affluent areas spend the most per student. We also spend a lot on 'special needs' students who have a limited capability to be educated. But, what matters most is how well the average student is educated and we don't spend a lot of money on that.
That's a silly measure, since the US's GDP is comparatively enormous. In terms of inflation adjusted or PPP dollars, the US spends a crap-ton on education, and has been spending more and more (per student) over the years, with little to show for it.
Some, US public schools are huge successes that provide a world class education at reasonable cost. Others have below 25% graduation rates...
Inflation adjusted dollars and PPP attempts to balance housing, food, and healthcare costs. But schools need to compete with the rest of the economy so it's balanced not on how expensive food is, but how much janitor's / teachers / middle managers could make working somewhere else. R&D has reduced the amount of man hours required to produce a hammer, it has not reduced the amount of man hours required to teach subtraction.
