Why the “we have been throwing more money at education” argument is just plain terrible.

We need to get rid of the military. In 2000 the defense budget was around 300 billion dollars and this year it was nearly 700 billion dollars. Friends we’re just throwing money at the problem of defense, lots of money. Despite these large expenditures we still have enemies and according to the republicans the world is more dangerous than ever. Lets just outsource defense. I wonder if the Hessians are looking for a gig.

Ridiculous right, well some people not versed in facts, who go with their guts or believe what the anti-public education deformers are spewing often use the same argument about education, they say we are spending more on education and we are just throwing money at the problem.

Are we spending more money on education? Undoubtedly. The thing is, things have changed over the last thirty years.

Thirty years ago we spent very little on special education and now it is about a fifth of our budget. Technology was an overhead and a grease pencil. Now it is a smart board and all the programs that go along with it and hey friends if you haven’t noticed everything is more expensive than it was thirty years ago.

We’re not throwing more money at education and to imply so is ludicrous.

We do have problems with public education, problems that we need serious solutions to. What we don’t need is the ignorant pretending they are not.