The Best Economic Stimulus Package is a High School Diploma

If half of the estimated 27,000 students who dropped out of the Houston metro area's Class of 2008 had graduated, their increased earnings would pump an estimated $120 million in additional spending and $44 million in additional investment into the regional economy during an average year.

That's according to a new report out from the nonprofit Alliance for Excellent Education, titled "The Economic Benefits from Halving Houston's Dropout Rate: A Boom to Regional Business." The Alliance also calcuated the total impact of halving the number of dropouts in the nation's 45 largest metropolitan areas: $4.1 billion in combined additional earnings in the average year, $2.8 billion in additional spending and $1.1 billion in additional investment each year, boosting annual tax revenue by $536 million.