By Paul Jacob
If you could get the federal government off your back by forking over 8 percent of your income, would you do it?
That's the decision Utah made earlier this month when Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. signed legislation writing his state's educational priorities into law, instead of those handed down from Washington in the "No Child Left Behind" Act.
In going its own way, Utah risks losing $76 million -- 8 percent of its education budget. That's the money it gets from the U.S. Department of Education each year. But that money comes with strings attached, and a lot of people think the money isn't worth the regulation, interference, and bureaucratic requirements that come with it.
The Constitution includes no role for the federal government in schooling, so Washington can't just dictate state standards. But Congress found a way around that: Offer the states "free" money IF they play ball. And the states, by and large, fall for it every time.
America's diversity gives us an opportunity to try different things and see what works. But with its "go along, get along" money, the federal government seriously hampers the states' ability to find better solutions to their problems. The money clouds judgments. It encourages the states to pretend that one size fits all.
One size rarely does.
By going its own way, Utah is in effect doing what the Republican Party promised, but failed: getting rid of the meddlers at the Department of Education.
This is Common Sense. I'm Paul Jacob.
Common Sense is published by Americans for Limited Government. Their website can be visited at www.limitedgov.org.