My personal opinion is that an overhauled education system[1] that brings us more up to par with other countries (China, Russia, etc.) will give the US a better economic advantage because, lets be honest, the US as an economic powerhouse is not going to change in the near future. But other non-super-friendly countries like China, Russia, etc are not irrelevant on the world geopolitical stage where soft power is huge. A better nationwide education system/standard could also help us beyond some of these social/societal issues we have (racism, social gender stigmas, economic inequality (have you ever attended an 'inner city school'? I spent a few months in one, teaching standards were ludicrous. Thankfully I transferred out asap.), etc.). If just a fraction of the money we send overseas was rerouted to use in our education system, it would pay dividends for years to come. Much more than buying some other fickle countries loyalty for the year.

[1] http://www.oecd.org/pisa/ (check out the Math world map for a humbling view)