The Plan, Day Three: Abolish the Department of Education
Thursday, April 15, 2010
FNC
Glenn Beck with Stephen Dubner and Chris Edwards
This is a rush transcript from "Glenn Beck," April 14, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GLENN BECK, HOST: All right, today, we've decided we're going to get rid of the Department of Education.
I don't know why this is such a ridiculous idea. It's only been really in existence since 1979. We'll tell you a little of the history of it coming up in a few minutes. It would save us $100 billion.
Take a look at this graph: 81 percent — 81 percent — of the department's spending goes back to the states. So, let me just get this right, only the federal government would do this: I take my local money and send it to Washington and then they send it back.
That doesn't make sense to me.
Here to tell us how we can do this and what some of our alternatives are is the director of the tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, we have Chris Edwards, and, of course, he's the author of "Downsizing for the Federal Government."
And Stephen Dubner, author of "SuperFreakonomics."
OK, Chris, let me start with you. This is such a sacred cow, and yet it's a relatively new