Obama’s Failed Stimulus: Education Edition
Posted November 20th, 2009 at 10:38am in Education 
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Following news this week that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has led to jobs being “created or saved” in Congressional districts that don’t exist, the GAO issued a new report warning that the U.S. Department of Education is falling down on its oversight responsibilities.
The GAO reports that the U.S. Department of Education:
…Has made uneven progress in implementing a department-wide, risk-based approach to grant monitoring…Has limited financial expertise and training, hindering effective monitoring of grantees’ compliance with financial requirements… Lacks a systematic means of sharing information on grantees and promising practices in grant monitoring throughout the department….
The bottom line, as GAO explains, is that “these shortcomings can lead to weaknesses in program implementation that ultimately result in failure to effectively serve the students, parents, teachers, and administrators those programs were designed to help.”
These findings from GAO are particularly worrisome since the U.S. Department of Education is in charge of distributing $97 billion that was provided by the ARRA legislation this year. Members of Congress and the Obama administration have a responsibility to monitor and ensure that those funds are being spent effectively.
Considering our ballooning budget deficit and the rising national debt, today’s students are ultimately going to be paying for the current Congress’s profligate spending. The least Congress can do is to see that those tax dollars are spent effectively to help them get a decent education.
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10 Responses to “Obama’s Failed Stimulus: Education Edition”
Tim Az on November 20th, 2009 at 10:38am said:
The department of education has been a failure for too many generations now. Look at what we have to show for it. These kids leaving college cant even produce a commercial that relates to the product they are supposed to be selling. They are totally disconnected from reality. That’s why we have this socialist govt. railroading the people every day.
How’s that hope and change working out for you?
Chitown on November 20th, 2009 at 10:38am said:
Arne Duncan, former Chicago Board of Education President, made absolutely no improvement. He was replaced by Ron Huberman, Daley’s man, who is a former Chicago Patrolman with no experience in this field.
Associated Press study of Chicago’s school system:
Blacks suspended – 75%
Whites suspended – 5%
Blacks expelled – 54%
Gangs are on the rise, especially on the south side of Chicago, where over 200 killings have taken place this year and mostly around Obama’s home neighborhood. (Note: these are unregistered guns.)
Where was Obama when he lived in Chicago to help solve the problem? Attending “damn America” Rev. Wright’s sermons and training Acorn on sub-prime mortgages.
Chitown on November 20th, 2009 at 10:38am said:
Arne Duncan’s former Chicago style Education meeting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTbqr6-ry3A
cadli lv. on November 20th, 2009 at 10:38am said:
How do you figure out Ford Foundation,s 500ml.donation to the Teacher,unions.
Lynn B. DeSpain on November 20th, 2009 at 10:38am said:
If Obama were a ship, even the rust would be abandoning it by now!
joan, connecticut on November 20th, 2009 at 10:38am said:
I asked my grandchildren if they are being taught American history and they all said no. This subject, is apparently taboo in schools of today, due to all the different groups who might be offended. Anyone attending USA public schools, should learn the reasons why the United States of America was founded, and the sacrifices made by many to keep it free. The history of the United States, and it’s founding fathers is not something that should be forgotten, political correctness, be damned!
Clifford F. Eike on November 20th, 2009 at 10:38am said:
Another in a series of indictments of the “Baby Boomer’s” (of which I am one), who failed in parenting by allowing the liberal education establishment to indoctrinate their children in “revisionist history” driven by “diversity,” “feminism,” “separation of church & state,” “situation- ethics,”"environmentalism,” “secular-humanism,” “victimology,” “abortion rights as religious dogma,” and “free speech,” only as long as it is liberal speech.
In Obama’s vision of a “classless” society that is ruled by his “statists” in Washington, the only centers of intellect and wealth will be the “ruling class” inside the beltway, “Hollywood pseudo-intellectuals” like Janine Garafalo and Jane Fonda, “main stream media leftists” like Charlie Gibson, Catie Couric, Chris Matthews, New York Times, etc. This agenda to remake America in the image of the failed Soviet Union (minus the weapons and intelligence apparatus to defend itself, of course) will result, unless halted by a reawakening of a majority of Americans, in not only the redistribution of wealth within our borders, but also in the wholesale redistribution of America’s hard-earned wealth to the third world dictators comprising the majority of UN member states.
This tragedy is unfolding now before the eyes of the world as Obama and his Chicago thug Marxist cronies in allegiance with a compliant/complicit media, nationalize an ever increasing percentage of the private sector in their never ending effort to control every aspect of your business pursuits and personal life. This is how they plan on working around the “Bill of Rights” and Constitution which Obama has publicly stated to be “negative rights” as respects government central planning.
The Founders, and their historical inspiration which included philosophers and great thinkers like Cicero, Locke, and others, are spinning in their graves as these false prophets in Washington piss all over ideas that were centuries in development, and until the early part of the 20th century resulted in the most successful experiment in freedom ever tried since the dawn of civilization.
These inexperienced, ill-equipped, historical ignoramuses, seek to destroy the personal initiative and drive for excellence that is God-given and protected by the Constitution in order to achieve an “equality of outcomes” that was NEVER guaranteed by our Founders because they were very aware that not all persons are equally endowed with the motivation to achieve success and due to the frailty of “human nature” would seek to pull themselves up only by pulling those more motivated and thus more successful down. This vision of a “classless” society has only ever resulted in an equal distribution of misery (“malaise days”), presided over by an oligarchy.
May God help us all and awaken the “walking dead” Obama supporters!
Rita, KC on November 20th, 2009 at 10:38am said:
This is a phoney and incompetent administration. The Rep. Party has asked the Attorney General, Kansas to investigate Serbelius for Medicare/Medicaid fraud. Birds of a feather. I wonder what the role of the OIG is in education?
Alistair Owens www.keen2learn.co.uk/news/ on November 20th, 2009 at 10:38am said:
The educational journey of a child is around 15 years. During this period they will be subjected to continual change from several presidents, governments, policies and global infrastructures. We are educating the leaders of tomorrow right now. Maybe someone, somewhere in the world can evolve a schooling process that works and is free of political dabbling.
QualityResearch on November 20th, 2009 at 10:38am said:
Politics should be kept far away from education. Our children are the future of the nation and we must ONLY educate them to become critical thinkers – why alter syllabuses for the sake of pleasing or not offending some?
http://www.qualityresearch.org.uk