Look: a government isn't just there to raise an army and collect taxes. For example, the US Constitution states that our government is of, by, and FOR the people. It's supposed to do stuff that benefits the society, including passing laws, building roads, running schools, and a zillion other things.
Val, I believe you are incorrect.
1) The phrase "of, by, and FOR the people" is not found in the US Constitution, but in Lincoln's Gettysburg Address:
...we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
2)The Constitution gives the federal government no role in
running schools.
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Official analysis of the 10th Amendment at this
PDF. US Dept of Ed statement on "
running schools" below:
Federal Role in Education. Education is primarily a State and local responsibility in the United States. It is States and communities, as well as public and private organizations of all kinds, that establish schools and colleges, develop curricula, and determine requirements for enrollment and graduation
...
In 1980, Congress established the Department of Education as a Cabinet level agency.
Thank you for sharing your ideology, Val, however please realize that those who disagree with you do not necessarily have a "flaw in their argument".
A major flaw in the American argument is that education benefits the individual, e.g.:
The beneficiaries are largely paying their own way! They're adults, personal responsibility for one's own well being SHOULD be paid for largely on one's own! I do believe we're getting somewhere!
Had the person been employed at a good job for those 2-4 years, he'd have had more cash for spending and paid more taxes.
Having good jobs available which require post-secondary education is a function of a healthy economy. Unfortunately, in the US economy, many jobs are being replaced by technology, leaving jobs in the service sector, and causing a job search to resemble a game of musical chairs.
guvmint funding... K-12 schools
It is my understanding that US taxpayer federal funding of K-12 schools is in response to some individuals asking for schools in various states (with different economies and costs of living) to have equalized funding. The fact that this federal funding has been granted does not necessarily mean that we ought to enlarge the scope of federal funding to cover other entities. Especially at a time when the economy does not have a plethora of jobs available requiring 4 year degrees.
we yoke millenials (and now the next group) to crushing debt
"We" don't yoke students to college loans. They choose it of their own free will IF they believe that attending college with a college loan is the best option or least-worst option available to them.
But unfortunately, the US is and has been a short-sighted nation
May I ask why you choose to live in the US if you dislike it so? After moving here, did you become a citizen? While everyone is entitled to share an opinion (1st Amendment), it may be beneficial for readers of these posts to have transparency regarding the source of the views expressed.
I'm sorry that so many Americans buy into ideas that are essentially destroying this society, in order to enrich a very tiny sliver of people. Everyone will suffer eventually, but again, people are too short-sighted to see that. Sad!
What we may have is a proportion of people standing by the ideas which have built the American Dream of an upwardly mobile society, and others who wish to change society... in ways which they may deem more fair or equitable... but which also entail increased governmental control, unprecedented data collection, increased National Debt, decreased personal liberty.
Those of each viewpoint could call the other short-sighted, and claim the other is destroying society (as you have done). However name-calling is a negative and emotional approach, it does not share facts to build a common knowledge base or demonstrate respect for views other than one's own.
History has shown negative results/consequences of economic and political systems which usurp citizens' rights. This is summarized in the old adage: Power corrupts, Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
We agree to disagree.
