1 I don't think you are entirely correct. For example, would soldiers learn their skills if we zeroed out the military budget? Surely SOME money is necessary for operations...although more money does not guarantee squat. I'm also reminded of America's history regarding education. In Massachusetts, for example, educational facilities were established from the gitgo. In South Carolina, only the white and well-heeled received a proper education. Consequently, there were more educated folks in Mass, and less in SC...although the few in SC may have received a better education than their northern counterparts. Maybe not though. Everyone should be given tools and access, and ideally everyone could, one day, be given a first class education, even if it meant watching college courses on their TV or computer. America needs more education, not less. We are ignorant enough, and crime is only getting worse. Think different and better, not removal. The current admin has squandered and squandered, and now want to cut important services to make up for their wrongheadedness. If they simply gave back all they stole and diverted, we wouldn't have to even talk about cuts to programs. Hi there!

2 "There are ZERO studies" is poor English. Try "there are no studies" instead. Thank you

3 Sorry, but I have to disagree. Stop spending money on education? Are you mental? You seem to have some sort of issue surrounding class and social strata as you mention "stealing" money from "productive" citizens and giving it to the poor..whoa horsey! That's what the income tax system is all about...everyone pays tax, it goes into a central fund and is then drawn back out for schools, hospitals, roads etc. That's the way it works, it's not about stealing. Are you seriously suggesting reducing Government spending on education to zero? Where would the money for schools come from then? Maybe I'm not reading your post correctly but that's what I think you're saying. I have to say that's the most absurd thing I've ever heard, seriously, ever! And as for your point that there have been no studies to show that spending money has any effect on education...that's nonsense! It doesn't take a report or a study or a rocket scientist to work out that if you have a school in a disadvantaged area where there is one teacher to 40 students and then a school in an affluent area that has one teacher for every 15 students that the pupils in the more affluent school are going to, in the main, have more opportunities educationally. Here in Ireland, there was a study done on one particular poorer suburb of Dublin and it showed that only three per cent of it's students went on to third level or college education compared to a more affluent suburb in Dublin where about 60 per cent of its students went on to college. That sure says something to me! (The study was done some years ago and I'm not sure if it's online so can't provide a link but I'll try to find something) Investing money in education is the ONLY way forward for all countries. The more educated our people, ALL of our people, are the better our lives and our world will be. Apathy towards education is what is destroying our communities. As the last poster said, we need more investment in education, not less!

4 There is so much waste in the public education system that the details defy description. One step to improving education is to see that children achieve the proper level of proficiency in reading. And the proven way to do this is through a coordinated series of basal readers. But the textbook lobbyists see to that the readers are republished every few years so that more money has to be shelled out--taxpayers' dollars, of course. Add to that the fact that many counties don't see to it that all the schools within any given system use the same series of basal readers. Furthermore, the stats are homeschoolers put to shame the proficiency levels of the public school system. And why is that? Effective homeschool parents grab ahold of a curriculum from a particular publisher and stick with it. The public system could take a lesson from that practice. Remember the days of the McGuffey Readers? Some of the greatest intellects of the previous century learned from those simple books. Get rid of the bells and whistles, and kids will learn.

5 Correction: the stats on homeschoolers

6 Thanks for all the comments, folks! Anonymoses -- Would soldiers learn their skills with no budget? You betcha, without ANY doubt. As for comparing today's society to that of 400 years ago, I don't think you can. Today, EVERYONE in America, including illegals, felons, criminals, and the so-called "poor" ALL have the opportunity for education, without any exception at all. Government has very few and limited purposes. Anything else it attempts, it does wrong. Education is NOT government's business. They are complete and utter failures at it. Kaz -- nope. I'm not mental at all. Government should not spend one dollar on education. Do you really think for even one second that there would be no education without government? Seriously? Imagine what would happen if ALL government-run education shut down tomorrow -- it would be awesome. No less people would be educated. In fact, I think MORE would be educated, and without any doubt, the quality of education would skyrocket. As for your example on spending, in fact your illustration is not actually true. Have 15 students for 1 teacher versus 40 students for one teacher has absolutely no effect on the education. Being raised in a so-called "poor" neighborhood has MUCH more effect than on the money spent on the education. And yes, Smokey, you're right on my thinking. Government stinks at educating people. The free market works infinitely better and always will. You bet, AoW. "Dick and Jane" taught millions to read. Why can't we use it now? Because the government monopoly will not let people. Follow the insane amounts of money, people, follow the money.

7 I think the Federal Government should stay out of education because it is unconsitutional to have the Federal Governement run state programs. However, education creates more productive working citzens. What would happen Ogre if no one was required to learn history or civics?

8 What would happen? People would learn it anyway. Do you really think that no one would learn history? How many people do you know that would be willing to teach what they know to others? I'm not saying there should be no organized education -- just that the government shouldn't be doing it.

9 Oh, and I KNOW for a fact that if the government got out of the way, many classical education schools would immediately open up. I'd open one within a week myself.

10 IÂ’m curious. You support federalism, right Ogre? So letÂ’s say that the Government in Washington stayed out of education and the Department of Education was disbanded tonight. Would you not support the right of the states to have this program if their voters divided on it even if you apposed it for your own state?

11 Sure -- because I could move out of my state and to one that believed in the free market.