In the Right

bootylover333:

in-the-right:

bootylover333:

in-the-right:

bootylover333:

in-the-right:

barackobama:

@TheDemocrats: “You can’t make this up: Mitt Romney’s plan to cut the deficit is to fire this guy.”

Which just begs the question: Obama, why are you using our tax dollars to fund Big Bird?

Same reason we have public schools. Educating the populace/making sure the population is educated, at least to some baseline level, is partly the responsibility of the government.

No, it’s not. Show me where in the constitution it’s written that the government should educate the public.

And even if it WERE even remotely the government’s job, where does the use of our tax dollars end? How many “educational” programs does the government need to fund, especially in this economic crisis? How many jobs is PBS creating? And has it even been proven that it’s an effective way to educate?

And finally, government-funded education is nothing but a source of propaganda. It’s quite literally the government telling us what to think.

Um, no.  Education doesn’t teach you what to think.  Education teaches you /how/ to think.  That’s what separates it from propaganda (government or otherwise), a distinction you seem unable to appreciate.

How many programs is enough?  I wouldn’t say I’m qualified to determine that.  To be honest I don’t have exact statistics on how many jobs PBS creates, though I’m sure they employ plenty of people in order to produce what they do.  I also don’t have statistics for whether PBS is overall effective in educating, though I do know from personal experience that shows like NOVA have taught me a lot about subjects I would not have otherwise encountered.

I feel like the constitution, as good of a document as it is, isn’t the be-all-end-all of what the responsibilities of a government are.  Would you say that the government has a responsibility to foster the US economy, whether by direct intervention or by setting policies that allow businesses to prosper?  Is that mandated in the constitution?

Education teaches you /how/ to think.

That would be nice, but it doesn’t. That’s not how the government does it. There are examples after examples of worldview bias and indoctrination in public schools and government-funded programs. And even without the evidence…it’s the nature of the beast. If given the power to shape young minds in a way that benefits them or gets them more power, they will.

I feel like the constitution, as good of a document as it is, isn’t the be-all-end-all of what the responsibilities of a government are.

Dude. The Constitution is the definition of the country. This is exactly why they added the Tenth Amendment that says it is the be-all-end-all of the federal government. That any extra responsibilities should belong to the states or individuals. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Would you say that the government has a responsibility to foster the US economy, whether by direct intervention or by setting policies that allow businesses to prosper?

No!

So you’re saying that the public school system is in fact indoctrinating children to support… America?  Well I suppose the pledge of allegiance is pretty propaganda-like, fair point.  

…but no, really, why are you electing Romney on fiscal/economic issues?  Why is he attacking Obama for not fixing the recession?  Shouldn’t the government be staying out of it entirely?

So you’re saying that the public school system is in fact indoctrinating children to support… America?

No?

Well I suppose the pledge of allegiance is pretty propaganda-like, fair point.  

No.

…but no, really, why are you electing Romney on fiscal/economic issues?  Why is he attacking Obama for not fixing the recession?  Shouldn’t the government be staying out of it entirely?

Because the government has a budget. So the government should fix its budget. Fixing the private sector isn’t as much their business. But by fixing their budget policies and what the government spends money on (and how it taxes people), it will encourage growth in the private sector.