By this point I almost wonder if ripping up the Department of Education and constructing a new one from the ground up would be more effective with how bad of a spot education is in right now.
As evident by the tea party, we literally have hordes of old people who don't care about the next generation as long as they get out good.
I was part of a very good discussion on the issue a while back, pertaining not only to the US, but most of the EU as well. Back in the day, people relied on their children to support them in old age. Now most first world countries have a functioning welfare state. Now, regardless of opinion on a welfare state, the modern incarnation requires a birthrate of 2.5 kids per couple to sustain. The problem is that across much of Europe the birthrate is now well below that, below replenishment (2.0) levels even.
In the US it's currently 2.4, but augmented by immigration, so we really can't use that excuse, as mismanagement play's a large part. In fact, there's several simple solutions that would avert the crisis if we simply raised taxes. The whole hubub about taxes is really too big to get into here, but also simply making retirement age 70 instead of what it is now would get rid of 60% of the problem (with time).
Just to augment you point a little
The thing about the need for 2.5 children per citizen is actually just dependent on how much tax people pay. Now, I'm not going to say Norways economic model is perfect, but we have a birthrate of some 1.8-1.7 and our economy is still doing fine. Most people that are not familiar with Norwegian politics usually just choc this up to our oil, but that's actually not where that money is coming from. In Norway, we have a fund, that grows every year, currently it's at some 100 billion dollars. Doesn't sound like a lot, but for a country with 4.7 million people, that's a lot of money.
The reason we have this fund, is that too much inflow of capital causes a non-sustainable market dynamic, and therefore the capital inflow into the Norwegian market from among other things the oil has been heavily moderated.
The thing that really keeps the machine going, is the fact that we have high taxes, not just on what a person earns, but on anything imported or sold.
If you buy a computer in Norway, the state gets 25% of the money you used,
that adds up to a lot of money for the state.
Norway just happens to be one of the richest countries in the world, so it's not really comparable.
Yes, but why?
It's not just the oil. How is it that a Norwegian can afford to pay some 25-50% tax on everything he earns, whilst buying food that also has a 25% tax on it? Why can we afford that?
Well, it might be partly because those taxes makes a lot of things free for us. We have free healthcare, free education, and lots of other nice things. As a student, I get a loan from the state, that has no interest for the years I'm studying. Do you know why? Because the state knows that "Sure, a cashier is needed at that store down the road, but that cashier will only provide for him/herself, and not for the state as a whole.
I really don't know the answer, but I ask again, Why?
other way round silly.
The arrogent douchbags that make us look like America?
...I feel like I devided by zero here or something D:
If you were polite, people would think you were englishmen with poor spelling. Or canadians.
Cut government official's salaries. You know the President makes 400,000$ a year? And he's not the only one, and their salaries have been climbing higher and higher in the last few years.
Stop cutting funding from education plz Government... It's kind of necessary
And how much does it cost to run for president?