Randolph Gaul it's not the subsidies they don't way, it's the strings that come firmly attached to those subsidies. And by strings I mean social control. Think back to the late 70s, when federal  highway funding was tied to states raising the legal drinking age. The federal government has no authority to raise the age unilaterally, and it knew the states couldn't turn down funding, so it made cash contingent upon social change. If the Dept of Ed just subsidized local schools based on need and enrollment, with a lose set of performance metrics like "all students must:  pass a competency test in algebra; read at a 12th grade level, as proven by an English test; and complete courses in biology, chemistry and US history to receive a high school diploma" letting states and local boards set any additional standards, the post covid education battles of the culture wars would not have been nearly as prolific. And the subsidies would be welcome with open arms.

Randolph Gaul it's not the subsidies they don't way, it's the strings that come firmly attached to those subsidies. And by strings I mean social control. Think back to the late 70s, when federal  highway funding was tied to states raising the legal drinking age. The federal government has no authority to raise the age unilaterally, and it knew the states couldn't turn down funding, so it made cash contingent upon social change. If the Dept of Ed just subsidized local schools based on need and enrollment, with a lose set of performance metrics like "all students must:  pass a competency test in algebra; read at a 12th grade level, as proven by an English test; and complete courses in biology, chemistry and US history to receive a high school diploma" letting states and local boards set any additional standards, the post covid education battles of the culture wars would not have been nearly as prolific. And the subsidies would be welcome with open arms.

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