Then I misunderstood your point.
Could you please clarify for me what you meant by education programs and scholarships?
I'm glad you asked. It covers a multitude of things. I don't think we're going to turn every six tooth redneck child into a Python whiz, but if I were in government (and not just the US, this applies equally pretty much any of the countries with which I have a passing political familiarity) I would look to make significant investments in a wide variety of programs to make educational programs more accessible for all, including but definitely not limited to:
- Massively subsidised training for vocations for the public good (e.g. nursing, teaching, social care)
- Beneficial term and forgivable loans for viable industry training (e.g. programming, IT, sales, finance)
- Government and industry backed training salaries to ensure that people do not have to forgo entering one of these training programs in order to cover basic living costs
- Salary subsidy for all apprenticeship programs along with a government operated skills and training marketplace, and preferential contractor/subcontractor programs to favour those organisations providing apprenticeships when bidding on public works contracts
- Childcare programs for all students needing it
I would also be taking active steps to stop the crazy cycle of can't get a job without a degree, can't get a degree without taking on massive debt, can't actually get a job in your chosen field even with a degree - I have particular thinking around the reprovisioning and repurposing of university education as well, but that's more applicable to countries like Canada and the US where basic human rights like healthcare are still provided as a public good.
Healthy and educated populations are productive. Basic economics tells us that keeping people sick and stupid is a core inefficiency. Any capitalist who doesn't want smarter people doesn't understand simple economic principles.