Penny Wise, Pound Foolish

We’re told, “We can’t afford it.” In reality, underfunding evidence-based prevention programs isn’t saving money—it’s creating bigger, more expensive problems. The data confirm that every dollar withheld from prevention programs results in much greater costs down the road.

In the spirit of fellow Hoosier David Letterman, here are my Top 10 Reasons Why Underfunding Prevention Is Unwise—presented in no particular order:

10. The “Pothole Principle” - Addressing problems early is always more cost-effective than dealing with larger issues later. Prevention saves money and avoids bigger challenges.

9. Invisible Success Is Still Success - When prevention is effective, emergencies are avoided. These successes may go unnoticed or uncelebrated, but their effect remains substantial. The absence of crises often serves as a testament to the effectiveness of prevention efforts.

8. The ROI Is Ridiculous (In a Good Way) - Effective school-based substance misuse prevention programs return $18 in societal cost savings for every $1 invested (SAMHSA, 2007).

7. A Fire Extinguisher, or a Fire Truck - Similarly, spending $20 on a fire extinguisher is more cost-effective than paying $50,000 after a fire has already occurred. Investing in prevention offers a more intelligent financial choice.

6. Prevention Protects Budgets - Healthcare, criminal justice, and social services are all downstream of prevention. Ignoring evidence-based prevention programs causes those line items to swell, like a crack in a dam—barely noticeable at first, but devastating when it bursts.

5. Kids Deserve More Than “Cleanup Crews” - Responding only after a crisis fails our youth. Effective prevention programs equip young people with the knowledge, skills, and resilience they need to prepare for emergencies before they arise.

4. Resilient Communities - Schools and communities investing in prevention are stronger, more resilient, and recover better from crises.

3. Prevention Creates Leaders - Likewise, leadership, mental health, and substance misuse prevention programs avert problems and develop future leaders.

2. The Math Doesn’t Lie - Each dollar invested in youth tobacco prevention programs yields $7 to $20 in societal cost savings, proving prevention is both effective and economically wise (National Cancer Institute, 2016).

1. Because Paying for Failure Costs More - Not funding prevention might seem cheap, but it results in far greater costs in the long run. No responsible financial manager, parent, or policymaker would choose such a strategy.

The Bottom Line

We invest in prevention because it's the most cost-effective way to save money, protect lives, build communities, and spare future generations the cost of inaction. Saying we can’t afford prevention ignores the far higher price of inaction. Our choice is clear: prevention funding is the investment we can’t afford to skip.