The foundation of a strong economy and job creation begins with

The words of Jared Polis—“The foundation of a strong economy and job creation begins with providing every child in America with the best possible education, including students with disabilities.”—resound with the weight of both justice and foresight. In them is the eternal truth that the prosperity of a nation does not rise from the wealth of a few, nor from fleeting markets, but from the cultivation of its children. A people who neglect their young, who deny them the tools of knowledge, who abandon some because of poverty or disability, will find their economy hollow, their society brittle, and their future darkened. But a people who invest in education sow seeds that bloom into strength, resilience, and abundance for generations.

To declare that the foundation of a strong economy is education is to see beyond the glitter of gold and the power of armies. True strength lies not in treasuries or weapons, but in minds sharpened by learning, in citizens able to create, to build, to innovate. Every factory, every business, every invention begins first in the mind of one who was taught to think, to question, to imagine. Polis reminds us that the wealth of nations begins not in their vaults but in their classrooms. Job creation flows from knowledge as rivers flow from springs.

His words carry even greater power in his inclusion of students with disabilities. Too often in history, the vulnerable have been cast aside, their potential ignored, their humanity dismissed. But to honor and educate every child, regardless of ability, is to unlock treasures long buried. For each soul holds gifts, though they may be hidden from the untrained eye. A society that embraces and nurtures all its children gains strength not only in numbers but in wisdom, compassion, and innovation. The ignored may become the inventors, the excluded may become the leaders.

History offers us shining examples. Consider Helen Keller, who, though blind and deaf from early childhood, through the devotion of her teacher Anne Sullivan, gained education and became a voice of hope to millions. From one whom society might have dismissed came courage, eloquence, and vision. Her life proves Polis’s truth: education transforms not only the individual but the entire community. The inclusion of every child strengthens the whole, for no one knows which child will bear tomorrow’s torch.

The ancients, too, understood this. Plato taught that the health of the city depended upon the education of all its citizens, not just its elites. A city where only a few were taught was doomed to fracture and fall. Likewise, in modern times, nations that expanded access to education—such as after the Industrial Revolution—saw their economies flourish, while those that denied schooling to many remained shackled by poverty and inequality. Education is the great equalizer, the force that breaks the cycle of despair and plants the seeds of progress.

The lesson for us is plain: if we would build strong economies, thriving communities, and a just society, we must begin not at the marketplace but in the classroom. Parents must nurture learning at home. Teachers must be honored as builders of nations. Citizens must demand that no child, rich or poor, abled or disabled, be left behind. For each child educated is a stone laid in the foundation of the future. Each child neglected is a crack that may weaken the whole.

So, O listener, take Polis’s words as a charge. See in every child not a burden, but a possibility. Support schools, defend the right of every child to learn, and remember that the strength of tomorrow’s economy begins with the minds of today’s children. In this way, your investment is not only in their future but in the destiny of your nation. For a society that teaches every child to rise will itself rise, unshakable, prosperous, and radiant with hope.