Talk About Economic Stimulus

I can't really tell you why, but school choice is an issue I have a great deal of passion about.  I firmly believe that every child in this country deserves a good education.  This is actually something that government money is well spent on.  If we educate our children properly it will do nothing but lift our country up.  We are falling further and further behind on the world stage in math and science.  We cannot possibly stay competitive on the world stage at this rate. 

Many people outside of the tea party movement make fun of the people who say they want to get rid of the federal involvement in schools.  Especially if anyone says to close down the department of education.  The department of education became a cabinet level department in 1979 under President Carter.  The current budget is almost $70 billion per year.  Under President Bush, the DoED was strengthened with No Child Left Behind. 

In math, only four countries had average scores lower than the United States. Students in 23 countries had a higher average score, and those in two countries did about the same as the Americans.


The ranking of U.S. students in math and science is about the same as it was in 2003.

What exactly are getting for the $70 billion?  I don't think all that much.  We spending good money after bad and the test scores are not improving.  There are a variety of reasons for this; one of which is the lack of parental involvement in some cases.  There have been many studies to back up the assertion that children who have parents that take an active involvement in the education of their kids, they have higher grade point averages, higher levels of graduation and will go onto to college.  The government can do nothing to help with this.  People will involve themselves with their children or they will not. 

School Choice is one answer that the democrats has been totally unwilling to use as a tool to help this country improve it's education system.  The DC program was very successful, yet the funding has been pulled and many parents are left with no choice but to send their children to failing schools as they just don't have the money to move to a neighborhood that put them in a better school, let alone afford a private one.

Not only is this an issue about government waste, it is an issue about the tenth amendment and federal overreach.  While it may seem that the tea party has bigger fish to fry, this is an issue that can rally people.  As it does affect all of us, even if you don't have children.  You are paying to educate every public school student in the country.  We need to educate our children to keep the country competitive.

Seriously, talk about economic stimulus; if we can get a good education to every child from the welfare system and give them the opportunity to get a college education or a good trade how much money will we save on the welfare system in this country?  It could potentially be billions.  That is what I call stimulus.

We need to think about what direction we want to take the tea party movement to in the future.  The mid term elections are just about over, but the work to get our country on a more financially stable footing is just beginning.  Start looking into things in your local area or state that need serious addressing and rally around that cause.  Our financial future certainly will not be improved until we involve ourselves in how the money is being spent.  For me this cause is education.  Find out what your cause will be.