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Your own linked to site lists the following expenditures by the US federal government: Pensions = 24% Health Care = 24% Defense = 23% Welfare =

by D9u 14y ago

Your own linked to site lists the following expenditures by the US federal government: Pensions = 24% Health Care = 24% Defense = 23% Welfare = 12% Interest = 6% Other Spending = 4% Transportation = 3% Education = 3% Protection = 2% General Government = 1% http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/piechart_2013_US_fed http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/piechart_2013_US_fed Who's fantasizing here? Of course, these figures don't include so-called "black budgets" for such things as CIA/DEA/etc "front companies" from which these agencies generate & draw funds without congressional oversight.

InclinedPlane 14y ago
You're being intellectually dishonest, it's not cool. The vast majority of educational spending is at the local and state level, the vast majority of defense spending is at the federal level. If you look at the totals of spending across all levels (federal, state, local) you can see how close the spending levels for education and defense are. The numbers are even summed for you.
- D9u 14y ago
  Who is being "intellectually dishonest?" When you refer to "our government," I automatically assume that you mean the federal government, as I'm unsure of whether you reside in the same state as I, or not. I was referring to the federal government, and the amounts spent are consistent with the claims made above. Were the federal government to spend as much on education as is spent on defense our nation wouldn't be as "dumbed-down" as we presently are. In my state the schools are dilapidated, and teachers are underpaid, which results in high school graduates who are barely literate. However, our police are well paid, well equipped, and well funded, a good portion of which is from federal sources. My state receives roughly 29% (44th in the nation) of its funding from the federal government, and spends 25% of the total state budget on education. Of the amount spent on education, 68% goes to salaries & pensions. If the federal government spent more on education, the respective states would be able to increase their spending on education, which is what I believed this thread to be about.
  - arrrg 14y ago
    In the US education is handled by the states while military is handled on the federal level. To look only at the federal level when talking about education doesn’t even make sense. You are a dishonest and clumsy ideologue that bends the facts to his or her will, selling a distorted picture of reality. Maybe you want education to be handled on the federal level. That’s a valid position to take – but it still wouldn’t make sense to then only look at federal spending on education to compare it with military spending.
    - D9u 14y ago
      Yet the federal government does spend money on education. This is a fact, and in no way am I being dishonest when I say that if the federal government spent more money on education then we would have a more well educated electorate. The respective states actually do fund defense, although to a lesser degree than the federal government. Kindly illustrate how I'm bending facts to sell a "distorted picture of reality?"
      - ams6110 14y ago
        if the federal government spent more money on education then we would have a more well educated electorate I don't think this can be assumed. Funding alone is not a good predictor of educational outcomes [1], and the source of the funds (local, state, federal) also matters. [1] http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/study-finds-no-relationship-between-ed-spending-and-results/ http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/s...
        D9u 14y ago
        A two year study can hardly be considered to be definitive. I wonder what the results would be for a 20 year study? Also, my state is one of those which spends the least on education, so my views are probably skewed as a result.
      - arrrg 14y ago
        You cannot ignore the states. Cannot. That is not possible. To do that is to not comprehend (or not wanting to comprehend) how the US is actually structured. Yeah, the states spend some money on defense and the federal government spends some money on education, but to claim that the federal government has the same responsibility for education as the states is a gross and stupid distortion of reality. To even talk about this that way is so dumb, it makes my brain hurt.

by D9u 14y ago

InclinedPlane 14y ago

You're being intellectually dishonest, it's not cool. The vast majority of educational spending is at the local and state level, the vast majority of defense spending is at the federal level. If you look at the totals of spending across all levels (federal, state, local) you can see how close the spending levels for education and defense are. The numbers are even summed for you.

D9u 14y ago
Who is being "intellectually dishonest?" When you refer to "our government," I automatically assume that you mean the federal government, as I'm unsure of whether you reside in the same state as I, or not. I was referring to the federal government, and the amounts spent are consistent with the claims made above. Were the federal government to spend as much on education as is spent on defense our nation wouldn't be as "dumbed-down" as we presently are. In my state the schools are dilapidated, and teachers are underpaid, which results in high school graduates who are barely literate. However, our police are well paid, well equipped, and well funded, a good portion of which is from federal sources. My state receives roughly 29% (44th in the nation) of its funding from the federal government, and spends 25% of the total state budget on education. Of the amount spent on education, 68% goes to salaries & pensions. If the federal government spent more on education, the respective states would be able to increase their spending on education, which is what I believed this thread to be about.
- arrrg 14y ago
  In the US education is handled by the states while military is handled on the federal level. To look only at the federal level when talking about education doesn’t even make sense. You are a dishonest and clumsy ideologue that bends the facts to his or her will, selling a distorted picture of reality. Maybe you want education to be handled on the federal level. That’s a valid position to take – but it still wouldn’t make sense to then only look at federal spending on education to compare it with military spending.
  - D9u 14y ago
    Yet the federal government does spend money on education. This is a fact, and in no way am I being dishonest when I say that if the federal government spent more money on education then we would have a more well educated electorate. The respective states actually do fund defense, although to a lesser degree than the federal government. Kindly illustrate how I'm bending facts to sell a "distorted picture of reality?"
    - ams6110 14y ago
      if the federal government spent more money on education then we would have a more well educated electorate I don't think this can be assumed. Funding alone is not a good predictor of educational outcomes [1], and the source of the funds (local, state, federal) also matters. [1] http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/study-finds-no-relationship-between-ed-spending-and-results/ http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/s...
      - D9u 14y ago
        A two year study can hardly be considered to be definitive. I wonder what the results would be for a 20 year study? Also, my state is one of those which spends the least on education, so my views are probably skewed as a result.
    - arrrg 14y ago
      You cannot ignore the states. Cannot. That is not possible. To do that is to not comprehend (or not wanting to comprehend) how the US is actually structured. Yeah, the states spend some money on defense and the federal government spends some money on education, but to claim that the federal government has the same responsibility for education as the states is a gross and stupid distortion of reality. To even talk about this that way is so dumb, it makes my brain hurt.