Eye On Illinois: Wise to weigh benefits of investing in a healthy population

We will start with a basic truth: there are no unlimited resources.

Here is another: When people are healthy and educated, they are better positioned to contribute to society.

When it comes to keeping things running, however, broad and perhaps abstract truths often run headlong into difficult choices and deeply held beliefs.

Consider Friday’s report from Capitol News Illinois on people asking the state to invest more in health care programs for people who are not American citizens. Crudely put, the program extends Medicaid-style participation to those who otherwise cannot qualify.

“Ample research has shown that coverage improves labor force participation, which adds value to tax bases and reduces the need for financial assistance,” said Samantha Sepulveda, who helped author a report on the state’s effort. “It increases early disease detection which reduces long-term medical costs. It relieves financial hardship which helps individuals and members of their household and also improves health outcomes.”

We understand this by simply knowing other people. Teachers can tell which students are sleeping and eating well and which deal with domestic strife. Workers can see their colleagues struggling with chronic illness or know friends who keep jobs they detest because of fear of losing insurance.

But politically, other forces intervene. One is concern for which fellow humans “deserve” the investment of state resources. Another is balancing competing interests of finite time and treasure.

Today marks the 122nd birthday of economist Ted Schultz, a 1979 Nobel Prize winner who spent the bulk of his academic career at the University of Chicago. A prolific researcher, his relevance here is advancing the concept of “human capital” and the justification for investing in people, allowing them to increase productivity.

“The mere thought of investment in human beings is offensive to some among us,” Schultz wrote in a 1961 American Economic Review essay. “Our values and beliefs inhibit us from looking upon human beings as capital goods, except in slavery, and this we abhor… To treat human beings as wealth that can be augmented by investment runs counter to deeply held values. It seems to reduce man once again to a mere material component, something akin to property. And for man to look upon himself as a capital good, even if it did not impair his freedom, may seem to debase him... [But] by investing in themselves, people can enlarge the range of choice available to them. It is one way free men can enhance their welfare.”

It’s since become easier to believe we should invest in ourselves. Investing in our neighbors as well remains less popular.

It’s foolish to ignore the costs of programs like health coverage, for immigrants or anyone. But wise leaders will at least weigh the benefits.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. Follow him on X @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.