May God continue to bless America
The intense debate about economic inequality in America is a highly necessary exercise. Inequity has a harmful impact on all aspects of national life so addressing it should be every American’s priority. But the tone of the discussion is a bit too negative at times. It takes knowing how bad things can really get in life for us to appreciate what we have. When I was growing up in Ghana in the 1960s and ‘70s, the country had a rather strange education system. Primary and middle schools were government-funded so all parents, including the extremely poor who lived in villages, could send their children to school. Tertiary education was similarly state-financed and students attended tuition-free. But for some inexplicable reason, secondary schools charged tuition. Making matters worse, they were all boarding institutions that were located in the big cities and towns. That configuration made secondary education inaccessible to most children from poor families, particularly those who lived