Republicans have been internally debating just how much to cut federal spending on education, but their platform unveiled this week at their convention in Tampa Bay does little to clarify their vision beyond referencing that no new investments will be made. While the Romney campaign works out the details of the education funding conundrum (or simply figures out the PR spin), Tea Party conservatives are loudly voicing their opinions to end federal spending on education entirely.~A new report shows that other nations like China and India have out-invested the U.S. in their education systems as strategies to become more competitive internationally. While U.S. 15-year-old students rank 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in math, governments in China and India have expanded to make major investments in early childhood learning, expanded primary and secondary school public education systems, and post-secondary degree programs that produce career-ready workers.
It's unfathomable how anti-education and anti-intellectual the Republican party has become. Education spending is the investment that we put in the next generation. Nations with whom we compete are doubling down on their investment while the GOP wants to gut it. Apparently some want to eliminate it wholesale. This would leave the American labour market utterly uncompetitive compared to their foreign counterparts. We can afford NOT to spend on educating our children.
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