$447 bil

[Smittie61984]

Originally Posted by fatbuckRTO

Your education was all private / home schooling, then?

From a quick google search, the Department of Education budget is about $46 billion. Department of Defense, not including the wars, $680 billion. Where is this "more money" that we've been giving teachers? Possibly on a pallet flying to Iraq?

Unfortunately I was government educated. My father was military and stationed in DC. Expensive housing and shit pay never got us much in that part of the country. I also got the added benefit of seeing my father 6months out of the year while he was on TDY, during peace time. I bet teachers get to see their kids all the time.

I on the other hand will never let my children go to a government school. For what many spend on a car payment I can send my kids to the best private schools. Most prefer a new bitchin ride (or motorcycle) and give a big "fuck you" to their kid's futures.

Also for your numbers. I don't doubt them one bit. But you are also forgetting how much the states and local governments spend on education. I doubt the states send much to the DOD.
This is for Georgia
http://app.doe.k12.ga.us/ows-bin/owa...prev_order=asc

The state spent a total of roughly 6.2billion dollars. The local also spent roughly 6.2billion. For the sake of argument let's just say they spent 12billion total per state (some states will be more and others less). Multiply 12billion x 50 and that equals roughly 600billion dollars spent on education just from the states.

So education gets $650billion total with help from local, state, and federal governments. The DOD only gets their money from the federal government.

[fatbuckRTO]

Originally Posted by Smittie61984

Also for your numbers. I don't doubt them one bit. But you are also forgetting how much the states and local governments spend on education. I doubt the states send much to the DOD.

...

So education gets $650billion total with help from local, state, and federal governments. The DOD only gets their money from the federal government.

You're right, I was only looking at federal funds. But regardless of whether the money comes from the state or the federal government, it ultimately comes from us.

That said, total expenditures on education, including state and local money, work out to about $10,000 per student in this country in 2007.* Accounting for inflation and possible *cough* budget increases, let's call it $15,000 per student. Hell, call it $20,000, per student, per year in 2011.

The current DoD budget is $680 billion, again not including war budgets. There are currently about 2,940,000 servicemembers, including reservists. So even with reservists, who actually get paid a fraction of active duty salaries, the DoD is spending $231,000 per servicemember, per year in 2011.

Doesn't seem to matter how much the states and local governments are contributing, a student costs us 8% of what a servicemember does. Again, not even counting the war budgets, which add (very conservatively) another $100 billion per year.

Obviously, these are simplified estimates. Besides, we can batter numbers around all day, but what's the point? At the end of the day, what good does it do to defend a country that can't offer any legitimate competition in the world market? The fact is that you are correct, and most parents would choose to spend their money on something other than their children's education. That just underscores my point in other threads that the problem with education isn't teachers, it's parents. But as a country, can we afford to stand by and allow the average American to raise a litter of illiterates? I, for one, don't want to be paying a soldier $100K a year or more if he can't even read the goddamn package instructions on an MRE (they are half pictures, by the way).


*http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66

[the chi]

I'm sorry, please forgive me!

She stuck raisins up his nose didnt she? And made him eat the rubber cement...seriously, how many kids did this crap? Was I just not cool enough to stick things in my ears or nose?

[pauldun170]

Originally Posted by the chi

I'm sorry, please forgive me!

She stuck raisins up his nose didnt she? And made him eat the rubber cement...seriously, how many kids did this crap? Was I just not cool enough to stick things in my ears or nose?

Why do you assume it was a she?
Cant men be 3rd grade teachers?
Your F'n sexist.

[pauldun170]

Meh..

Our local schools are awesome.
Your schools suck.

Boooyakashaw

[Homeslice]

Plus you can't really compare military to civilian jobs. It isn't like someone's going to say "Hmm, I'll forgot about joining the military, because I just got offered an alarm installer job for $1K more than I could make in the military". Most people who are interested in the military aren't going to pass it up for a silly $1 to 10K, because there are lots of intrinsic things about the military that they like.

[pauldun170]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

Plus you can't really compare military to civilian jobs. It isn't like someone's going to say "Hmm, I'll forgot about joining the military, because I just got offered an alarm installer job for $1K more than I could make in the military". Most people who are interested in the military aren't going to pass it up for a silly $1 to 10K, because there are lots of intrinsic things about the military that they like.

Yup
Apples and Oranges goes way beyond take home pay.

[Corey]

Damn, I have the exact opposite view of government schools. I'm not one to pat myself on the back, but I came out a better person from going to base schools than if I would have gone to public schools. With the exception of 10th - 12th grade, all of my schooling took place on base. I think I came out of school better educated and better prepared for things than many people in the public school systems. The class sizes were smaller, the teachers seemed more apt to give a shit about the individual students, and there seemed to be far less external bullshit brought into the the learning environment.

[Homeslice]

Strange how this thread evolved.

Obama's proposal isn't something I'm all that gungho about, but where are the counter-proposals from the GOP? How do they propose to improve the economy? So far I haven't heard shit from them, other than the same old tired "decrease regulations" which would be a fucking disaster. Yeah, let's allow Big Oil and Big Banking to do whatever they want, screwing us and screwing the environment like they already did. Yeah, great idea.

And I am sorry to disappoint the armchair rich people in here, who think it is macho to defend rich people or something, but higher taxes on the rich is a good idea IMO. The whole "it is unfair to raise taxes on anyone" idea is total BS, because the rich WERE paying much higher taxes years ago, until the the cuts in the 80's. And there was never any guarantee that those cuts would be permanent. So they can't act as though it would be some kind of treasonous, unprecendented action.

And what is with this whole tax breaks for Big Oil that has been going on forever? What kind of fuckign shit is that? Since when have those fat cats ever needed more money? Fuck Texas.

[RACER X]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

.

And I am sorry to disappoint the armchair rich people in here, who think it is macho to defend rich people or something, but higher taxes on the rich is a good idea IMO. Th.

qualify rich please.

and rich being based on yrly income, not net worth.