ENERGY & EDUCATION...DO WE NEED THEM?

     Do we need the Department of Energy and the Department of Education? Is the good that they do or the services that they provide worth the money that the American people pay in taxes to keep them going? More importantly, is the United States Government the best, most cost efficient way to accomplish what these two cabinet level departments were created to accomplish?

     I question whether the federal government should be involved in education at all. The Department of Education does not educate a single pupil. All primary education is conducted at the local community level and is overseen by the respective states. 
     I further question whether an entire cabinet level department should exist for the purpose of making America energy independent or more energy efficient?

     Let's look at a few facts. The U.S. Department of Education, a cabinet level department, was established in the 1970's. Since that time, the academic ranking of U.S. students in the three R's as well as Math and Science as compared to other industrial countries has consistently dropped. We currently find ourselves lagging far behind other less developed nations. This is a travesty. 
     Many colleges are required to have remedial courses for incoming freshmen because a significant number of students are incapable of doing college work after being "educated" from Kindergarten thru High School. 
     Many of the problems with our local schools can be laid at the feet of the Department of Education bureaucrats. 

     Billions and billions of tax dollars has been spent since the department's inception. What have we received for our money? Consistent deterioration of academic achievement.

     The Department of Energy's track record is not any better. Have you heard the names Abound Solar or Solyndra or Fisker? If you have been paying attention to the news in recent months, you may have. 
     The Department of Energy gave grants or guaranteed loans in amounts ranging from $424 thousand dollars up to $790 million dollars for a total outlay of 1.2 billion dollars to subsidize "green energy!" Nineteen companies received federal dollars and as of this writing there have been no successes.
    Abound Solar was given $790.3 million dollars. Abound Solar failed! Solyndra was given $570 million dollars. Solyndra failed even though the president went to the company for a photo op and touted it's being an example of thekind of  companies we that ought to support. Fisker Car Company received $193 million dollars and is about to file for bankruptcy after firing 80% of it's workforce.

     There are many more examples of egregious wastes of tax dollars in both departments. We ought to abolish both of them and eliminate all the fraud and waste for which both departments are responsible! That would be a great first step in reducung government spending.