Senators urge Obama to buy more F-22s

[Grizalltheway]

Why can't we do both? And for that matter, why do we spend more than the rest of the world combined on our military, yet most school districts are barely afloat? I'm all for having a strong military, but we've got to find some sort of balance.

And yes, I realize that education isn't delegated to the fed. government by the Constitution.

Hasn't stopped the federal government from being involved so far.

Exactly. There's no going back on it now, so we might as well make sure that our education system is at the level it should be considering how rich of a nation we are. And NCLB is NOT the answer.

[ASUMountaineer]

Hasn't stopped the federal government from being involved so far.

Exactly. There's no going back on it now, so we might as well make sure that our education system is at the level it should be considering how rich of a nation we are. And NCLB is NOT the answer.

I agree it's not the answer. It is ludicrous to think that state employees, paid by the city/ county, regulated by the federal government makes sense. If the federal gvt. is going to be involved, relieve the state's and federalize the system, or get your worthless hands out of the state's perogative. I know it won't happen, but it would be nice.

[Col Hogan]

Opps...$423M

Now, are you proposing laying off those high paying folks building the F-22 to build highways????

Why can't we do both? And for that matter, why do we spend more than the rest of the world combined on our military, yet most school districts are barely afloat? I'm all for having a strong military, but we've got to find some sort of balance.

And yes, I realize that education isn't delegated to the fed. government by the Constitution.

You are learning, Grasshopper...my compliments...

We can do both...just work those printing presses in the basement of the Old Treasury building a little longer, and all our cares can be fixed...

I'm an old fart...when all this borrowing comes due, I'll be long gone...but you're a youngster...you're the one who will be stratled with debt from all this borrowing...

And regarding education barely afloat...pass taxes that will pay for your schools locally...or give up local control...you see, people want to keep local control of schools , but they don't want to pay for it locally...they want the feds to pay the bills...well, where is that money coming from??? The easter bunny delivers candy...the tooth fairy doesn't carry large bills...where is it going to come from???



Oh, I get it...take it from someone else and give it to me...

[UNI88]

Exactly. There's no going back on it now, so we might as well make sure that our education system is at the level it should be considering how rich of a nation we are. And NCLB is NOT the answer.

I agree it's not the answer. It is ludicrous to think that state employees, paid by the city/ county, regulated by the federal government makes sense. If the federal gvt. is going to be involved, relieve the state's and federalize the system, or get your worthless hands out of the state's perogative. I know it won't happen, but it would be nice.

If the Feds pulled their noses out of education and let the states run it we would see some states do better and some states do worse. The states that did better would become more attactive to potential residents and would likely see a population increase while the states that did worse would experience the opposite. The states that did worse would lose residents, then businesses and the corresponding tax revenue. They would need to fix their education or suffer the consquences. Would the principles of free market competition provide enough of an incentive for many states to improve their public education programs?

[ASUMountaineer]

I agree it's not the answer. It is ludicrous to think that state employees, paid by the city/ county, regulated by the federal government makes sense. If the federal gvt. is going to be involved, relieve the state's and federalize the system, or get your worthless hands out of the state's perogative. I know it won't happen, but it would be nice.

If the Feds pulled their noses out of education and let the states run it we would see some states do better and some states do worse. The states that did better would become more attactive to potential residents and would likely see a population increase while the states that did worse would experience the opposite. The states that did worse would lose residents, then businesses and the corresponding tax revenue. They would need to fix their education or suffer the consquences. Would the principles of free market competition provide enough of an incentive for many states to improve their public education programs?

I see you went straight for the option I stated that is not centralization. What do you think of federalizing the school system and making school employees federal employees?

Local control would always breed the certainty that some states (and districts) would perform much better than others. However, too much influx of new students would stunt the performance of the good schools as the amount of teachers, buildings, and infrastructure would lag behind the influx. So things, may remain more even than you suggest if feds got out of education.

My mentioning of the feds taking over or getting out deals with the feds regulating local schools without providing federal funding and employing people who carry out the federal policies.

[UNI88]

If the Feds pulled their noses out of education and let the states run it we would see some states do better and some states do worse. The states that did better would become more attactive to potential residents and would likely see a population increase while the states that did worse would experience the opposite. The states that did worse would lose residents, then businesses and the corresponding tax revenue. They would need to fix their education or suffer the consquences. Would the principles of free market competition provide enough of an incentive for many states to improve their public education programs?

I see you went straight for the option I stated that is not centralization. What do you think of federalizing the school system and making school employees federal employees?
Local control would always breed the certainty that some states (and districts) would perform much better than others. However, too much influx of new students would stunt the performance of the good schools as the amount of teachers, buildings, and infrastructure would lag behind the influx. So things, may remain more even than you suggest if feds got out of education.

My mentioning of the feds taking over or getting out deals with the feds regulating local schools without providing federal funding and employing people who carry out the federal policies.

On the surface I'm not opposed to federalizing the school system because IMO our educational system is the foundation for this country and we need to have it functioning at a high level. In order for the US to truly be the land of opportunity, everyone should have an opportunity to get a quality education and advance themselves regardless of race, religion, socio-economic status, etc. But if I think about federalization just a little more, I get worried. Why? First, because the more you ask the federal government to do the worse it job it does (thus I support a smaller, more streamlined federal government). Second, because IMO a federalized education system would mean more government and union bureaucrats protecting jobs and maintaining the status quo rather than innovating and doing what is best for the kids and the country long-term.

It will be interesting to see what the Obama Administration does. Arne Duncan wasn't afraid to stand up to the Chicago Teachers Union and push for innovation and improvements, charter schools being a key example.

[HI54UNI]

Hasn't stopped the federal government from being involved so far.

Exactly. There's no going back on it now, so we might as well make sure that our education system is at the level it should be considering how rich of a nation we are. And NCLB is NOT the answer.

More money at schools is not solving anything. Schools have been and should be a local issue, not a federal one. And NCLB is not perfect but it is not all bad either.