Nevada and Education

After living in Nevada for a while, I have acquired a greater feel for the people and the culture.  One thing that jumps out at me is the underlying lack of education that exists for many of the residents.  Mostly, I see the results of this when I drive to work and witness a bizarre collection of vehicles: "monster" trucks, trucks on hydraulics, SUVs on hydraulics, and souped-up Japanese imports.  Originally, I thought this might be a West Coast thing, but after taking a few trips to California, I've found this is not true.  California has normal cars, Nevada doesn't.

The number of pickup trucks here in Nevada is astounding; and strangely enough, 90% of them are never carrying anything.  This might be the only big city I've been in where trucks outnumber cars.  There seems to be an eternal contest here of who can have the biggest truck (hence, the hydraulics).  I asked an acquaintance why there are so many trucks here, and he responded that "it's just the style". 

The main function of these monster trucks seems to be intimidation, and this is what highlights the underlying lack of education.  The uneducated, who are fairly powerless in modern society, often turn to aggression and intimidation to try and get their way.  Normal, successful people aren't driving monster trucks and trying to run people off the road.  In fact, recent research connects the lack of a mother's education with violence and aggression in male children.

I wanted to confirm my hypothesis about Nevada's lack of education, so I did some research.  Sure enough, Nevada ranks near the bottom as the 47th "smartest state" in the U.S.  Only New Mexico, Mississippi, and Arizona are ranked lower than Nevada.   Even my home state of West Virginia, which doesn't have the greatest reputation, is ranked higher at 34th. 

I'm not sure how Nevada ended up this way or if anyone is interested in changing it.  One obstacle in the way of any potential change is this: Nevada is Las Vegas, and Las Vegas is all about casinos.  Over 70% of the Nevada's jobs and tax dollars come from Las Vegas, and in Las Vegas, the casinos are king.  Do the casinos really care if the residents and workforce of Las Vegas become more educated?  I doubt it. 

The hospitality industry and the construction industry combine to make up over half of all the jobs in Las Vegas.  And how much education do you need for either of these industries?  Not much.  What the casinos want are more tourists, not more residents or better educated residents.  As long as the casinos are sending billions in tax revenue to the state, their voice will be heard.  Hence, I don't think the lack of education in Nevada, and all the problems associated with it, will be disappearing anytime soon.