During Wednesday night’s Republican primary debate, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called for abolishing the Department of Education and returning its $80 billion in funding to the American people.
“We have a crisis of achievement. Let’s shut down the head of the snake, the Department of Education,” Ramaswamy said. “Take that $80 billion and put it in the hands of parents across this country. This is the civil rights issue of our time. Allow any parent to choose where they send their kids to school. End the teachers’ unions at the local level to allow public schools to compete, and then revive our national identity. Every high school senior should have to pass the same civics test that every immigrant, including my mother, had to pass in order to become a citizen of this country.”
“And the fact of the matter is, look, there’s part of education policy that also rests with the family,” Ramaswamy continued. “I didn’t grow up in money, but you know, the word privilege gets used a lot. I did have the ultimate privilege of two parents in the house with a focus on educational achievement. And I want every id to enjoy that.”
“Part of the problem is we also have a federal government that pays single women more not to have a man in the house than to have a man in the house, contributing to an epidemic of fatherlessness, and I think that goes hand in glove with the education crisis as well, because we have to remember: Education starts with the family; and, the nuclear family is the greatest form of governance known to mankind,” he added.
True “privilege” is not based on the color of your skin. It’s being raised in a stable family with two parents with a focus on education and a faith in God. That’s the ultimate “privilege.” As President, it’ll be my job to make sure we help every kid in this country be able to… pic.twitter.com/1XFaFe6eao
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) August 24, 2023