This orientation would be more helpful to those lower-income families where family strengthening should be a supreme national objective. Beyond this, paying off the national debt should have high priority. In any event, projections of future surpluses may turn out to be radically wrong. The fact that the United States has a negative savings rate makes us particularly vulnerable if something goes wrong, and prudence is required. In any event, before we lower taxes, we must replace and modernize decaying schools, attract bright young and old people into teaching, and find money for languages, culture, and sports.
School textbooks are a mess.
They are very often ignorant, inaccurate, illogical, and ideological. Some of the best professors in subjects ranging from science to the arts should be drawn into textbook reconstruction. If the publishers, who are obsessed with profits and catering to local prejudices, will not do this, then the federal government and the states need to play a role. This magazine is doing its small part with its Teacher's Guide, but it is not enough. Young minds must be assisted in learning to think for themselves upon the foundation of relevant and accurate information.