"And as a result we get less productive output, making us all poorer."
This is not necessarily the case. "Work effort" is not fungible. In the case of tertiary workers, a highschool drop-out working now is probably giving us less productive output over time than had they finished their education.
This is not necessarily the case. "Work effort" is not fungible. In the case of tertiary workers, a highschool drop-out working now is probably giving us less productive output over time than had they finished their education.