US Presidency
2013

And if we don't invest in American education, then we're going to put our kids, our workers, our countries, our businesses at a competitive disadvantage. Because if you think it's if you think education is expensive, you should see how much ignorance is going to cost in the 21st century. It's going to be expensive. So what do we need to do on education? Number one, it's got to start in the earliest years. And that means working with states to make high-quality preschool available for every four-year-old in America. Every study shows this is a smart investment, encourages healthy behaviors, increases our kids ' success in the classroom, increases their earning power as they grow up, reduces rates of teen pregnancy, reduces criminal behavior. It's really important. And any working parent will tell you that knowing your kid is in a safe place to learn is a big relief, so it's also important for the parents. This idea of early childhood education, it shouldn't be partisan.