What an odd statement. We have a cabinet-level position called Secretary of Education. It's an entire federal department, with a $68B budget in 2016.
It is an unquestioned fact of history that universal public education has been a transformative and positive advancement in Western society.
You realize the department of education wasn't a federal department until 1979 correct?
The powers of Congress are outlined in the enumerated powers following the statement you spoke of regarding "general welfare" The whole purpose of outlining the enumerated powers was exactly to DEFINE what was meant by "general welfare" Among those enumerated powers there is no mention of public education.
For those who don't know what the original purpose of the federal government was intended to be, let me help you with the Declaration of Independence that tells you exactly what it was for:
(Quote)
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men.(End quote)
The only reason the federal government was put in place was to protect the rights you've were given by your creator, not to supply it's citizens with funding, financing, or material goods.
