Education In the United States Is Big Business

While the reported numbers vary greatly, is pretty certain that more than a trillion dollars is spent every year in the United States on all level of education; K - 12 and higher education.  To say that it is big business would be an understatement.  And, what do we get for it.  Half the kids in the United States cannot read or do math at grade level and inner city kids are way below grade level.  Most kids could not pass a basic American History and Government test.  

The Education Industry is more about jobs, benefits and pensions for those working in the industry rather actually educating children.  Little is being done to actually improve academic achievement because the reforms required are opposed by teacher unions that often own school board members lock, stock and barrel.  And, what we see today at all levels is left wing Marxist woke indoctrination, not actual education and it is inter woven into all subjects.  

The battles we see happening all over the country are because parents and other concerned citizens have finally woken up to what is happening in our schools.  We see taxpayer dollars going out the door and we get mediocre results in return.  The Educrats always argue that we don't spend enough money on education, which is absurd.  The United States spends more money on education than any other industrialized nation in the world.  The problem is four layers of bureaucracy, federal, state, county and local.  Administrators are basically paper pushers making work for each other to justify their jobs.  Not enough of the money we do spend actually gets to the classroom. 

Clearly, we need to get rid of many of these administrators to pay everybody working at the school site level more money.  That means getting rid of many stupid regulations that are only there to justify administrator jobs.  And by the way, student loans have only driven up the cost of tuitions. The Federal Department of Education was added by Jimmy Carter as pay back for teacher support in his reelection campaign when he was challenged by Ted Kennedy in the primaries.  Today, there are thousands of employees working for the Federal Department of Education with no significant purpose that matters.  If the Congress wants to give local districts money they can do it directly with one administrator to dole it out.  

Our public schools are broken.  There is nothing meaningful happening to improve the quality of education because the things that need to be done would not benefit those working in education.  It is that simple.  Education in America is a big bloated business run by those that benefit most from the money we spend.  Kids are just a means to their ends not the ends.  Until parents and other concerned citizens take control of our schools, nothing will change.