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It must be emphasized that by “asset,” the term is not being used like the movies depict CIA agents talking about people. There is NO proposal of setting a value on
the graduate, but rather,
the value is being set on the knowledge & education the graduate holds. The graduates are NOT the assets.
While everyone can grasp there is obviously a valuable asset, when we start looking at how to establish the monetary value of this measured amount of knowledge & education, it would not be wise for it to just be assigned some arbitrary value. And, as people try and assess the
true value of education, they will find what I did: In truth, the actual value of an education is near infinite, and accurately calculating it would be impossible due to the multitude of factors involved. Further, the
true value varies from student to student. And further still, knowledge continues to grow over time, long after people graduate.
What we
can do, however, is use a very conservative minimal or
base value so we don’t cheat ourselves out of the ability to account for enough of the value to completely fund the very system that is helping the students develop this Wealth in the first place.
Metaphorically speaking, the cost of a house built to code with $160k worth of raw materials & labor is worth at least $160k. Granted, that same house will sell for many times it’s base value once it reaches the market, but the valuation of the house starts with it’s base value.