Une Année Sans Lumière
I found this on kalyan3's journal today. Very interesting.
One thing that apalls me about US budget appropriations (after the ridiculously low taxes they pay in that country) is the fact that in 2007, the budget for the Department of Education is being cut by 4%, while the budget for the Department of Defense is being augmented by 7%.
Not so bad, really, what's 4 or 7 per cent, really, in the big picture?
But I haven't told you the worst part, yet... the Defense Department will have a budget in the upcoming year of $439 Billion. You heard me, four hundred and thirty-nine billion dollars. The Department of Education, that which represents the future of the country and an institution that, at one time or another, directly affects virtually every single person in the country, gets a measly $54.4 billion.
For those of you who are counting, that means that Education in the United States comprises 12.3 per cent of military spending, and a mere 5.5 per cent of the total budget of $983 billion dollars.
Defense spending, on the other hand, makes up 44.6%. This isn't even counting the Department of Homeland Security's budget, seeing as it's a different department altogether.
Oh, and the so-called 'Global War on Terror' will get $110 billion next year (before cost overruns, which are next to inevitable). That's twice as much as the schools get.
Screw the analysis, screw my opinion. You guys already know what it is from the way I'm presenting this information. All I'll say is this makes me sick. An entire nation of people who think it's more important to blow shit up than to teach a child to read and to understand others.
One thing that apalls me about US budget appropriations (after the ridiculously low taxes they pay in that country) is the fact that in 2007, the budget for the Department of Education is being cut by 4%, while the budget for the Department of Defense is being augmented by 7%.
Not so bad, really, what's 4 or 7 per cent, really, in the big picture?
But I haven't told you the worst part, yet... the Defense Department will have a budget in the upcoming year of $439 Billion. You heard me, four hundred and thirty-nine billion dollars. The Department of Education, that which represents the future of the country and an institution that, at one time or another, directly affects virtually every single person in the country, gets a measly $54.4 billion.
For those of you who are counting, that means that Education in the United States comprises 12.3 per cent of military spending, and a mere 5.5 per cent of the total budget of $983 billion dollars.
Defense spending, on the other hand, makes up 44.6%. This isn't even counting the Department of Homeland Security's budget, seeing as it's a different department altogether.
Oh, and the so-called 'Global War on Terror' will get $110 billion next year (before cost overruns, which are next to inevitable). That's twice as much as the schools get.
Screw the analysis, screw my opinion. You guys already know what it is from the way I'm presenting this information. All I'll say is this makes me sick. An entire nation of people who think it's more important to blow shit up than to teach a child to read and to understand others.