The following excerpt was written by Jude Schwalbach and originally appeared in The Daily Signal.
Here we go again. Congress plans to ignore the glaring education policy errors of the past five decades—and, worse, spend even more money on them.
As policymakers place the finishing touches on the Labor-Health-Education bill—a spending measure that funds education programs at the departments of Education and Health and Human Services—Americans stand to have more of their hard-earned dollars spent on policies that don’t work.
In fact, the entire spending package encompasses $178 billion in expenditures, $11 billion more than the Trump administration’s proposed budget.
Lawmakers should formulate good education policies that actually help students and protect American taxpayers, instead of seeking the approval of special-interest groups, such as teachers unions.
Although education spending skyrocketed in the past five decades, education outcomes remain the same. Instead of improved student outcomes, increased education spending has been accompanied by a lopsided increase in school staffing and administration.
For example, an 8 percent increase in the size of the student body since 1970 has been accompanied by a 138 percent increase in nonteaching staff over the same time period.
Instead of eliminating waste and bloat, federal policymakers propose to buttress bad policy by spending $71.4 billion on federal education programs—$2.6 billion more than in fiscal year 2017.
Tired of the feds throwing away taxpayer money? Then sign your name to the Convention of States Petition below! Join the growing nationwide movement to call the first-ever Convention of States to impose fiscal restraints on Congress, mandate term limits, and limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government.
