The politics of right versus left obscure the real issue in education: right versus wrong. Our children’s future is trapped in a never-ending cycle of money and politics. Educators like me, who insist that kids are the number one priority, must acknowledge a fundamental truth: funding hasn’t equated to improving student outcomes.
This is the argument of those who resist eliminating or restructuring the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). They believe that without this massive bureaucracy, funding for students will disappear. But let me be clear—no one is taking money away from kids. In fact, eliminating the DOE could increase funding in classrooms. Currently, 47 cents out of every dollar is spent on adhering to regulations set forth by the previous administration’s DOE. That’s right. It would be like me providing tutoring services for $100 but returning half—if you followed my 12-step plan of success.
Since the DOE was established as a cabinet-level department, it has successfully increased educational equality and access, particularly for minorities. However, government mandates have transformed equality into the Marxist concept of equity, which opposes meritocracy. Instead of expanding equality opportunities, federal mandates control states, claiming outcomes are predetermined and citing a lack of viable plans to improve student results.
Yet, despite trillions of dollars spent, our nation’s students are victims of political divisiveness. Not surprisingly, our kids are performing significantly worse today than 45 years ago. The 2024
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment, which measures our students’ progress, stated that eighth-grade reading proficiency hit its lowest point in over thirty years; math scores reveal that one in three students can’t distinguish between odd and even numbers. Clearly, more federal oversight hasn’t translated into better outcomes.
We’re top dog in one category, though: price per pupil—spending a whopping $20,000 to $30,000 per student. In the private sector, a company with that level of spending and poor performance would collapse. It wouldn’t last 45 months, let alone 45 years.
However, past administrations overlooked performance as a priority; accountability was an afterthought, and excessive government spending fostered inefficiency.
On the other side of this spending equation were the recipients, many of whom took free money for granted. But here’s the real problem: reliance on government spending has become an addiction.
Anyone who has undergone surgery or suffered an injury knows the immediate relief opioids provide. A doctor prescribes the medication to help manage pain, and in the short term, it works.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government flooded the system with financial relief—PPP loans, stimulus checks, and widespread bailouts. These were supposed to be temporary fixes, like pain medication. But some people didn’t want that sensation to end. Financial euphoria became the goal—endless bliss brought to you by the American taxpayer (and the printing press). Exit: short-term reliance; enter: addiction.
As the initial relief fades, the prospect of losing unlimited taxpayer funds feels unbearable. Just like an opioid addict chasing the next high, those dependent on government handouts would do anything to keep the supply flowing, ignoring the dire consequences. And when the funds dry up? Withdrawal begins—the pain returns, along with chaos and desperation.
A society addicted to government spending loses its ability to function independently. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, mandated by President Trump to “put herself out of a job,” has a new credo: eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse while ensuring our special education, low-income, and financial aid-dependent college students receive their 8-10% federal cut, potentially disbursed by the existing Treasury Department.
A government filled with spending addicts has infected its citizens with a disease of more. The infection is building—it’s $37 trillion high. Print more. Spend more—all while the abscess grows exponentially. We’ve created a nation of monetarily expectant addicts, relying on an endless supply of government-printed dollars.
Informed Americans desperately seek a chair to sit in before the music stops. When it does, the pain from spending cuts will be minor compared to defaulting on our debt. However, the unintended victims will be our children. It won’t be due to a lack of a DOE; it will be because we don’t have a viable plan to improve student outcomes that isn’t tied to excessive funding.
