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The US Department of Education commandeers roughly $63.7 billion in discretionary appropriations and $96.8 billion in discretionary funding from the federal budget. And this “is only a small part” of education spending, because education is “primarily a state and local responsibility.” source
While I'd argue that, constitutionally, it's entirely a “state and local responsibility—and mostly a really narrow “local responsibility” (as in within the child's own home)—this entitlement isn't likely to end soon. As with all entitlements, once we become dependent on someone else to provide for us, we are ill-disposed to the idea of ever doing it for ourselves again.
With the education model we've set up, all this money is tied to the school districts. But if the purpose of the taxing and redistribution is really to give each child the opportunity for the best possible education (as opposed to enriching and empowering unions and administrators), the money should be tied to the students. It should be used by each child in the particular way best suited to him or her.
John Stossell has been on board the school choice movement for years. He's still spot on. He knows we're stupid in America and he has some sound ideas for improvement.
Also remember that if you're getting a tax refund, you're overpaying your taxes. Increasing your allowances will bring your deduction in line with what you actually owe. If you don't overpay your taxes, maybe you can afford to educate your own children!
Alison Moore Smith is a 61-year-old entrepreneur who graduated from BYU in 1987. She has been (very happily) married to Samuel M. Smith for 40 years. They are parents of six incredible children and grandparents to two astounding grandsons. She is the author of The 7 Success Habits of Homeschoolers.
People have a right to an education! The US schools aren’t as bad as you are making them to be.
Yes, people (did you mean children?) have a right to an education and parents are loathe to ACCEPT that responsibility and give children what they need. Most kids come to my college courses w/almost no ide of how or WHY to study. Few of them have any interest in the material, and if the interest is there, very few have the work ethic to realize lasting gains. What a waste of time! College is becoming a holding period, just like many schools already are. Compared to schools I’ve attended/observed in many first and third world nations, our schools ARE as bad Alison and John Stossel (and Einstein and Churchill…) “make” them to be. We ARE stupid. Otherwise, we would see the nudity of the Emperor and no longer say that they’re not “as bad as you are making them to be.”
Or, should I say, the “Speedo” of the emperor?
Thanks for posting this video. When I saw the length of it, I thought I’d watch just a few minutes, but I was glued to it. Being new to California, it was interesting to see just how long the have been the poster child/poster state for problems in public education. It was an eye opener in many ways, and it is obscene how much we spend per child yet have so many failing schools. Of course because they do spend so much and taxes are so high to cover it it has a snow ball affect because it makes it so expensive to live here that private schools are closing right and left because people can’t afford the added expense. It did prompt me to start some research on the outside chance that I would ever consider homeschooling (not surprisingly, California also has one of the most complex series of requirement to get yourself established as a homeschooler.)
.-= Tina T hopes you’ll read Is Marriage Really the End of Freedom? =-.
Great video, eh? Stossel puts our great stuff. I’ve watched a number of episodes of his new show and it’s good, too. He’s a hardline libertarian, so I don’t always agree with him, but his positions are well thought out and he brings good research to the table.
Agreed about the school system issues. If you ask me, that’s just the obvious result of a system that has guaranteed funds that magically appear without any competition. And, yes, I’ve heard for years about California and homeschooling. Don’t they still require umbrella schools or something? When we were looking to leave Florida (not a bad place to homeschool, btw), we knew California was not on the list. Utah is a wonderful place to homeschool for the most part.