[djcapelis]

There's been quite a few good studies done that show the rate of return on education funding is something absurd like usually 1:10. Unfortunately I don't have any links to them on hand, but if you google around you should find the studies and then we can start quibbling about methodology. :-P

The other point you're making is that states with strong educational investments are hurting worse right now. I think you might find that those states are hurting worse because the difference between the amazing acceleration of everything they felt when the economy was good is just so out of step with the stagnant environment that comes about when the economy is bad that they simply had more to lose.

If you're referring to California, then that's a situation that has a lot of factors, many to do with the fact that the California Constitution is simply an document which is downright insane and progressively continuing to get more insane as voters keep lobbing stuff into it.