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Would you close down the education department in order to save on taxes

poet4justice 2012/06/14 13:59:40
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I have encounter a sticky situation with taxation and the american value that we, as American, hold so dear. And every time that I talked about taxation something else come along and they start saying thing like " I believe that we should have a lean government but don't touch the check of the military... "
But very much of what we believe in taxation are the core principle of the American Value and vice versa. So this is not a tricky question and it is plain curiosity. I just want to know where do we stop believing in the american value so that we can stop paying taxes to those American value that we choose to not to afford.
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  • Andy 2012/06/14 14:27:26
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    Andy
    +10
    Shut it down at a Federal Level... each state has its own Education Department, and then there are the individual school districts and finally the admin of each school. TOO MUCH GOVERNMENT CONTROL...in education. Simplify and save money, and probably a better product!!

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  • Joel Buccellato 2012/06/24 01:54:59
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    Joel	 Buccellato
    The national department. It would make education better. Like it was before No Child Left Behind
  • La 2012/06/17 11:42:04
    No, don't close it down I want my kid educated
    La
    +1
    Umm education is very important and not everyone can afford private schools.
  • Ameera 2012/06/17 05:48:45
    No, don't close it down I want my kid educated
    Ameera
    +2
    education is the most important thing
  • ruthannhausman 2012/06/16 23:56:31
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    ruthannhausman
    The entire federal government needs to be pared down. But I don't recommend a huge, gratuitous sweep of shutdowns. But a good evaluation of the necessity for a lot of these departments is in order and probably will result in either downsizing or elimination, either one. And overlapping duties and responsibilities should be looked for first thing, as there is a lot of that stuff going on, which has resulted in major inefficiency and waste of money as well.
  • DuncanONeil 2012/06/16 00:48:42
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    DuncanONeil
    Follow that with;

    Defense cut by 2/3: $475 billion (Federal Budget, pg. 58)
    Medicare/Medicaid*: $441 billion (Cato Institute)
    Social Security Means Testing: $170 billion (Heritage Foundation)
    Social Security*: $85.7 billion (Cato Institute)
    Eliminate Dept. of Transportation: $84.8 billion (Cato Institute)
    Tax Amnesty: $80 billion (Rep. Jared Polis D-Co.)
    Eliminate Dept. of Labor*: $78.6 billion (Department of Labor and White House)
    Eliminate HUD: $60.8 billion (Cato Institute)
    Eliminate Dept. of Agriculture*: $33 billion (Cato Institute)
    Cut civilian employee compensation: $30 billion (Cato Institute)
    Stop maintaining vacant federal property: $25 billion (Heritage Foundation)
    Eliminate Foreign Aid: $21.2 billion (Cato Institute)
    Eliminate Dept. of Energy*: $20.8 billion (Cato Institute)
    Eliminate NASA: $19.6 billion (Cato Institute)
    Federal Drug War: $15 billion (White House)
    Earmark moratorium: $16 billion (Heritage Foundation)
    Eliminate Fannie/Freddie Subsidies: $14 billion (Federal Housing Finance Agency (p. 10))
    Eliminate Dept. of Commerce: $13.9 billion (Department of Commerce)
    Eliminate Dept. of Interior: $12 billion (White House)
    Legalize Pot, Online gambling, Immigrants: $12 billion (Rep. Jared Polis D-Co.)
    Privatize Army Corps of Engineers: $10.6 billion (Cato Instit...



















    Follow that with;

    Defense cut by 2/3: $475 billion (Federal Budget, pg. 58)
    Medicare/Medicaid*: $441 billion (Cato Institute)
    Social Security Means Testing: $170 billion (Heritage Foundation)
    Social Security*: $85.7 billion (Cato Institute)
    Eliminate Dept. of Transportation: $84.8 billion (Cato Institute)
    Tax Amnesty: $80 billion (Rep. Jared Polis D-Co.)
    Eliminate Dept. of Labor*: $78.6 billion (Department of Labor and White House)
    Eliminate HUD: $60.8 billion (Cato Institute)
    Eliminate Dept. of Agriculture*: $33 billion (Cato Institute)
    Cut civilian employee compensation: $30 billion (Cato Institute)
    Stop maintaining vacant federal property: $25 billion (Heritage Foundation)
    Eliminate Foreign Aid: $21.2 billion (Cato Institute)
    Eliminate Dept. of Energy*: $20.8 billion (Cato Institute)
    Eliminate NASA: $19.6 billion (Cato Institute)
    Federal Drug War: $15 billion (White House)
    Earmark moratorium: $16 billion (Heritage Foundation)
    Eliminate Fannie/Freddie Subsidies: $14 billion (Federal Housing Finance Agency (p. 10))
    Eliminate Dept. of Commerce: $13.9 billion (Department of Commerce)
    Eliminate Dept. of Interior: $12 billion (White House)
    Legalize Pot, Online gambling, Immigrants: $12 billion (Rep. Jared Polis D-Co.)
    Privatize Army Corps of Engineers: $10.6 billion (Cato Institute)
    Cut federal employee travel budget: $10 billion (Heritage Foundation)
    Eliminate National Science Foundation: $7.4 billion (National Science Foundation)
    End EPA’s State and Local grants: $6.5 billion (Cato Institute)
    Repeal Davis-Bacon: $6 billion (Republican Study Committee)
    Privatize TSA: $5.7 billion (Federal Budget)
    Cut Dept. of Justice’s State and Local grants: $5 billion (Heritage Foundation)
    Privatize Post Office: $4 billion (White House)
    Eliminate Small Business Administration: $1.8 billion (Small Business Administration)
    Lease coastal plain of ANWR: $1.5 billion (Heritage Foundation)
    Eliminate Federal Flood Insurance: $1.3 billion (CBO, pg. 3)
    Abolish SEC: $1.3 billion (SEC)
    Eliminate Corporation for National Community Service: $1 billion (Cato Institute)
    Suspend acquisition of federal office space: $1 billion (Heritage Foundation)
    End subsidies for public broadcasting: $500 million (Cato Institute)
    Eliminate the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp: $480 million (Heritage Foundation)
    Eliminate the FCC: $439 million (FCC)
    Eliminate the Endowments for Arts/Humanities: $332 million (NEA/NEH)
    Total Cut: $1,882,619,000,000
    Current deficit: $1,645,000,000,000
    Surplus Achieved: $237,619,000,000
    (more)
  • Saye Saye 2012/06/15 23:39:47
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    Saye Saye
    I have paid for too many decades for educational taxes. And disagree with how a lot of it has been spent.
  • Iamfree 2012/06/15 18:42:08
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    Iamfree
    +1
    The federal government has no business tinkering with education; it is a state and local issue. The Dept. of Education should be eliminated right this minute. It has caused nothing but problems since its inception.
  • Peacock 2012/06/15 14:16:03
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    Peacock
    +1
    YES..USE THE MONEY TO PAY TEACHERS WHAT THEY DESERVE!! THE FEDS HAVE THEIR HAND IN EVERY ONES POCKETS. TEACHERS NEED A MASTERS DEGREE, NOT "ONLY A BACHELORS"..DAMN HARD WORK..PAY THEM FOR IT!!!
  • Evan 2012/06/15 10:38:49
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    Evan
    +1
    The Feds need to get out of Education. The government ruins anything they get involved in, that is why they get involved in it. There is an "Education Department" in every state, supported by State tax dollars. Let the States do their jobs, and get the Federal Governent out of a lot of stuff they don't know anything about...or worse, DO know about, and what to destroy. Their actions talk a lot louder than their words.
  • A Founding Father 2012/06/15 07:44:23
    No, don't close it down I want my kid educated
    A Founding Father
    +2
    I have a great proposal, by my own estimation. We could save just about half of all the expenses of education with just one little change. Require all "conservatives" who oppose paying a fair share of taxes to support the United States, to remove their children from all public education, and give each a tax credit equal to the portion of their tax that would go to educational programs from the Federal Government. Fair? Certainly. Take you kids out of public schools and be free of the burden of taxes you would pay for their educations.

    In that way you can educate your little ones, or not, your choice. If, in a generation or two,
    this program develops another class of imbeciles within our society, you can blame me for the suggestion. But, think how a few million more undereducated and rather stupid people would benefit the corporations and "small business" owners who need a supply of
    minimum wage earners in order to make a lot of profits and remain very wealthy.

    I will consider all your raves to this proposal as an endorsement. Given enough of them, I will send a letter to Rep Boehner and Sen. McConnell asking them to introduce permissive legislation in Congress.
  • Iamfree A Found... 2012/06/15 18:44:35
    Iamfree
    +1
    I am a conservative, and I would gladly accept your proposal. I would love to have sent my child to private school, but this government confiscated over $300,000 of my money in federal income taxes alone during my child's first 18 years of life. I couldn't afford private school thanks to the government, and frankly, the education she got wasn't great.
  • A Found... Iamfree 2012/06/15 19:04:26
    A Founding Father
    +1
    Thats too bad. Of the $300,000 the Dept of Ed share was about $12,000. They don't give refunds, but you did get benefits from the remainder of your contributions - a share
    of some ships, tanks, bombs, two wars, security of your home and family, and, above all, you helped the very wealthy and corporations become more wealthy and profitable. Always some good comes from giving your money to those who already have too much.
  • Iamfree A Found... 2012/06/15 19:09:11 (edited)
    Iamfree
    Ah yes, it does my heart good to know that my tax dollars are being used to give $23,000,000 to Citibank to help "unbanked people" in Kenya, Columbia, Haiti and elsewhere get "mobile financial services." Yeah, I'm really glad my government confiscates so much of my money for stupid things, like for instance the multiple young women in my town alone who have nicer cars than I do, yet receive WIC, or one of my daughter's friends who was essentially paid by the government to go to college because (sob) her mom and dad were divorced. See why I have little to no sympathy for the Dept. of Education? It's another colossal waste of money. Education should be handled at the state and local level. A bureaucrat in Washington has no idea how best to educate a child in a small town in Kansas, or a small city in Nebraska.
  • A Found... Iamfree 2012/06/15 19:16:13
    A Founding Father
    +2
    Education is the responsibility of parents, and the schools fill in the big picture, in most cases. Failing that, parents need to step up and take repsonsibility. As P.T. Barnum observed, you can't fool all of the people all of the time. Neither can you please all of them all of the time. That is why DE is so criticized, it can't please all of the millions of diverse opinions and ideologues who would have it doing their work.

    But, of course the Govy wastes much of what it collects in taxes. That is what your Congresspersons do - they make spending bills to please the locals who send them money and volunteer to man their local offices. Want to stop it? Send some new faces to Congress in November with instructions to cut off all the charity to your locals. Yea, see how that plays in your neighborhood.
  • Iamfree A Found... 2012/06/18 22:19:36
    Iamfree
    Couldn't agree more. I've given up on the White House and am focusing my energies on getting better people into Congress.
  • A Found... Iamfree 2012/06/18 22:29:54
    A Founding Father
    Focus on getting better people involved in your local school governance and teaching and you will be surprised how quickly things will improve. Too many locals have no real respect for education, focusing instead on religious "issues" they create with their self-possessed delusions, and complaining how much it costs to keep the door open for the kids.
  • Saye Saye Iamfree 2012/06/15 23:55:50
    Saye Saye
    well stated
  • jgh57 2012/06/15 06:32:09
    No, don't close it down I want my kid educated
    jgh57
    Education of our children is our future.
  • Marcus Clark 2012/06/15 06:01:05
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    Marcus Clark
    +2
    I wouldn't close it down just to save on taxes. I would close it down to improve education.
  • S and S 2012/06/15 03:08:37
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    S and S
    +3
    I'm a teacher and I know the department of education has destroyed the education system nation wide!!! anytime you get the gov't involved with any program, it ruins the intent and costs us (the taxpayers) 100x more than it should.

    Cash for Clunkers cost us the tax payers over $25,000 per transaction just to give people money to buy new cars that really didn't need to buy a new car and really didn't need the incentive to buy any car.
  • Iamfree S and S 2012/06/15 18:45:24
    Iamfree
    +1
    Cash for Clunkers was one of the biggest rip-offs of the American people I can remember.
  • S and S Iamfree 2012/06/15 18:51:35
    S and S
    +1
    pretty much any government run program is the biggest rip-off on "We the People"
  • Iamfree S and S 2012/06/15 19:04:14
    Iamfree
    +1
    Ain't it the truth!
  • ehrhornp 2012/06/15 02:42:50
    No, don't close it down I want my kid educated
    ehrhornp
    If anything it should be doubled. Education is the most important thing in this country, unfortunately we are not doing a very good job and are paying for it.
  • Iamfree ehrhornp 2012/06/15 18:46:07
    Iamfree
    We don't need the Department of Education to educate children. Local schools did that quite well before the DoE existed.
  • ehrhornp Iamfree 2012/06/15 18:57:47
    ehrhornp
    lol, yes if you believe in mediocrity.
  • Joel B... ehrhornp 2012/06/24 02:02:02
    Joel	 Buccellato
    The education before our current national department was much better than it is now because it allowed teachers to fail those students who would rather sit and do nothing
  • ehrhornp Joel B... 2012/06/24 02:58:19
    ehrhornp
    Or say the republican right which has done nothing to increase education in this country. Serves the republican purpose. Keep the population dumbed down. Easier to fool with propaganda from Fox and Rush.
  • Joel B... ehrhornp 2012/06/24 03:25:55
    Joel	 Buccellato
    Or the Republican right? Please, what is to go before the "or"?
  • martin28 2012/06/15 02:09:31
    No, don't close it down I want my kid educated
    martin28
    Doing that would be ensuring a doomed future.
  • *K'eim*h3reg' *Peh2u *Meg' 2012/06/15 01:40:54
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    *K'eim*h3reg' *Peh2u *Meg'
    +2
    The Department of Education has nothing to do with education. It is simply a tax drain. Kids were smarter before Jimmy Carter and Newt Gingrich shoved this thing down our throats.
  • Lonely girl 2012/06/14 23:54:05
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    Lonely girl
    +2
    Close it down at the Federal level and let each state take care of their own.
  • hisomouth 2012/06/14 23:51:37
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    hisomouth
    +1
    The numbesr say we were doing better with out it.
  • Mel the Witch POTL PWCM~JLA 2012/06/14 23:25:50
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    Mel the Witch POTL PWCM~JLA
    +2
    Absolutely, also NPR, The endowment for the arts, dept of agriculture, BATF, EPA, Department of Safety. for starts
  • santa6642 2012/06/14 22:28:37
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    santa6642
    +1
    Truly not needed
  • RED DAWN 2012/06/14 20:57:52
    yes, close it down my money is better spend elsewhere
    RED DAWN
    +1
    I would close down the education dept to save the kids.
  • gaylehelen 2012/06/14 20:57:27
    No, don't close it down I want my kid educated
    gaylehelen
    +3
    If anything, we need more education in this country. We're falling farther and farther behind the rest of the world. We're already behind in math and science. In just a few generations, we going to end up with a country full of idiots.
  • RED DAWN gaylehelen 2012/06/14 21:21:30
    RED DAWN
    +2
    Why are we falling behind the rest of the world.You think it might be this stupid educational system we have in this country?We do need more education and not so much indoctrination.
  • Steve R... RED DAWN 2012/06/14 22:17:56
    Steve Rogers
    +1
    More education would require money to be properly spent and require a level of effort from kids not seen in this country for over 50 yrs. One is a possibility. The other is not likely to happen
  • Mel the... gaylehelen 2012/06/14 23:26:56
    Mel the Witch POTL PWCM~JLA
    They are just getting "indoctrinated" now, Not educated

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