As a California native, I was lucky enough to go to and graduate from several of its wonderful public universities (as was my wife, Bonita).

That’s why it’s especially upsetting to hear about the massive cuts to California’s public educations, and even more frustrating to learn that spending on prisons passed spending on universities in 2004 (per an article from the September issue of The Economist).

The dictionary defines the word invest as, “to use, give, or devote (time, talent, etc.), as for a purpose or to achieve something”–the same mission behind education. California has long  been a state of entrepreneurs, incredible innovation and a once world-class higher educations system, but by refusing to invest in its future and instead putting money and energy into criminals and the prison system, the state is missing a huge opportunity to multiply its value.

We need to invest–be it monetary or otherwise–in people, places, things, that will create and breed value and ultimately serve us all for decades to come.