President Clueless is lying to you. Again and again
President Trump, I declare “bulls**t.”
In a press conference Wednesday and I’m sure at other times as well, President Trump repeated his argument for shutting down the Department of Education. There are two things wrong with his explanation.
The first is that he specifically cited a ranking of the quality of public education by country in which the United States was 40th – while being first in expenditures per student. In fact, apparently to demonstrate his familiarity with the study, he specifically named the first two counties in the ranking… Denmark and Sweden. So, what’s wrong with this picture?
The study he is talking about – that his brain trust put in front of him – is from US News & World Report, titled “These Countries Have the Most Well-Developed Public Education Systems.” Being “well-developed” is certainly a very important attribute of any public education system, but it’s not the same as the “quality” of education.
See the chart below showing the first twelve countries that the study ranked. Yes, the United States is ranked 12th, not 40th and not 1st, but 12th. However, take a look at the populations and Gross Domestic Products given in the rankings.
In general, for developed, financially successful countries, the smaller the country, the easier it is to implement any national service, particularly one as complex as public education. What President Trump didn’t notice or appreciate is that the United States dwarfs the other countries ahead of it on this list with a population of 335 million and a GDP of $27.4 trillion, with a “t.” Adjusted for the size of our country, our performance in providing public education, however still imperfect and in urgent need of improvement, has been nothing short of spectacular. Can Congress and the Department of Education do better? Of course, but improving our government isn’t the Trump/Musk/Project 2025 agenda.
As for rankings of the quality of education, US News & World Report, in “Best Countries for Education,” the United States is ranked #1 in the world.
At the beginning of this piece, I said there were two things wrong with President Trump’s argument for closing the Department of Education. The first has to do with his misleading the American people about the quality of the education we’re providing our children. Certainly, there’s plenty of room for improvement, but he’s misleading us nonetheless, purposely, for political reasons. Why? Because he’s a dangerously self-absorbed idiot with little if any, respect for the rule of law and democracy.
The second problem with President Trump’s explanation is that he talks as if public education is funded, wholly, by the federal government. It is not. Nationwide, 44% of public education is funded locally out of county and city government tax revenues, and 46% is funded by state governments. Only 7.8% of the costs of public education come from the federal government. These percentages are national averages and vary somewhat from state to state.
Even if the federal government walked away from public education entirely – which would be a huge mistake, especially to the detriment of less financially successful communities and lower-income households – 92.2% of funding for public education would be unaffected.
The point is, the states are already running their own public schools which is why public education in Maryland is better than it is in Mississippi, for example. So, what’s President Trump’s real reason for doing away with the Department of Education? Is it simply that he has no idea what he’s doing? And easily influenced by certain other people who are opposed to federal interference in their state’s business?
One thing’s for sure. Shutting down the Department of Education isn’t about the quality of public education in America. It’s about states’ rights. Trump doesn’t have the mental faculties to understand and couldn’t care less about the quality and “equality” of education. He’s nothing more than the tool of anti-federation advocates who are using him to move public opinion, through lies and thoughtless arguments, in their favor.
Les Cohen is a long-term Marylander, having grown up in Annapolis. Professionally, he writes and edits materials for business and political clients from his base of operations in Columbia, Maryland. He has a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Economics. Leave a comment or feel free to send him an email to [email protected].