But the dollars spent on economic incentives and new investment

“But the dollars spent on economic incentives and new investment strategies are wasted unless we seriously address the two most important economic issues in Kansas: education and health care.” Thus spoke Kathleen Sebelius, a leader who understood that prosperity built upon neglect is but a castle of dust. Her words resound not only for her own land, but for all peoples and all times. For in them lies an ancient truth — that no nation, no state, no city, can endure on wealth alone. The true measure of strength lies not in the fullness of its coffers, but in the wisdom of its people and the well-being of their bodies.

In the chronicles of old, kingdoms rose with splendor yet fell into ruin when their rulers forgot this sacred balance. The gold of their treasuries could not save them when their citizens were ignorant and sick. The wise among the ancients knew that education and health are the twin pillars of any lasting civilization — for one nourishes the mind, and the other sustains the flesh. Without knowledge, a people cannot advance; without health, they cannot endure. Sebelius’s warning is, therefore, not merely political — it is moral. To invest in commerce while neglecting these foundations is to water the leaves while letting the roots wither.

Look to history, and behold the lesson of Athens, the cradle of philosophy and democracy. In her golden age, the Athenians prized education as the breath of liberty, teaching their youth to reason, to question, to seek truth. They built not only temples for their gods, but schools for their children. And because they valued the health of the body as well as the soul, they cultivated the gymnasium, the bath, the physician’s art. It was through this harmony of learning and wellness that Athens rose to greatness — a light to all nations. But when greed, corruption, and neglect entered her heart, that light dimmed, and the empire of the mind gave way to decay.

Sebelius’s words come in the spirit of that same wisdom: to remind her people that economic power is empty if human potential is squandered. A state may pour its gold into industries and investments, yet if its children are poorly taught and its families cannot heal, all that labor will crumble. For what good is innovation without understanding? What profit is there in trade if the hands that build are weary and the minds that guide them are clouded by pain? True prosperity does not spring from capital alone, but from the flourishing of the human spirit.

There is a story told of a poor farmer who saved every coin to expand his fields, dreaming of endless harvests. Yet in his greed, he starved himself and his sons, thinking only of the soil. When the time of reaping came, there were none strong enough to gather the crop. His barns stood empty, and his land grew barren. So too it is with nations that feed the economy but starve their people. The land may promise wealth, but without education and health care, there will be none strong enough, nor wise enough, to bring its fruits to harvest.

Thus, Sebelius’s warning rings like the counsel of an oracle: the future belongs not to those who hoard wealth, but to those who nurture human worth. A government that values its teachers and its healers builds a foundation no storm can shake. The coin spent on a child’s learning, or on a mother’s recovery, is not an expense — it is an investment in eternity. For from the educated mind spring new ideas, and from the healthy body flows the energy to shape them into reality.

Let this be the teaching passed down to all generations: the prosperity of a nation is the reflection of its compassion. A wise people must never place profit before purpose, nor politics before the welfare of its citizens. Let every leader remember that schools are the true engines of progress, and hospitals the guardians of the nation’s heart. And let every citizen demand that these be tended before all else, for they are the wells from which life and liberty are drawn.

So, when the winds of policy blow and the tongues of power speak of growth and investment, recall Sebelius’s truth: “The dollars are wasted unless we first care for the mind and the body of the people.” The wealth of a land lies not in its gold, but in the brightness of its children’s eyes and the strength of its people’s hands. Guard these well, and no age shall call your nation poor.