It's more like an emergency room treating the drug dealer who has just been shot while the police officer that has just been knifed sits in the waiting room after being given a towel to bleed into. Sure, the gunshot wound is more pressing, but is it really good for society to save him over a police officer?

The amount of money spent on education goes farther if the people being educated have more potential. You could use the money to make someone below average less below average, or you could make someone above average into the next Einstein. I'd rather spend my money on the future researcher that cures cancer rather than on someone who will do little more than collect welfare checks and eat a bunch of high fructose corn syrup.

(The good news is that enough money seems to be being spent on gifted programs. I got to go to a state-sponsored math and science high school, and it was the best experience of my life.)