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A study done by The Alliance for Excellent Education examines what the economy would look like with $5 billion in spending to cut the dropout rate in half.

Reports claim more than 7,000 students drop out of school every day. And only 40 percent of teenagers who have children before the age of 18 graduate high school, according to the March of Dimes. Per The Alliance for Excellent Education’s study the $5 billion spent to cut the dropout rate in half would also boost the GDP to over $9 billion, $2 billion in new investments and 54,000 new jobs.

“The single greatest economic stimulus package in this country, in the information age economy, is a diploma,” said Bob Wise, the former governor of West Virginia and the president of the Alliance for Excellent Education.

Phillips’ story illustrates what a difference finishing high school can make.

Read the full story on TheGrio.

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