Some people may have gotten the impression that Congress is going to be “giving” Tennessee a lot of “free” money for education. But Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., has given a clearer view.
He explained that the federal government is “giving Tennessee half a billion for education with one hand and taking twice as much for health care with the other.”
That’s not a very good bargain, is it?
Sen. Alexander explained: “The federal government is really giving with one hand and taking away with the other because the new health care law is going to add $1.1 billion — but could reach as much as $1.5 billion — in cost to Tennessee between 2014 and 2019, and most of that will have to come out of education.”
Sen. Alexander, a former U.S. secretary of education, noted that the U.S. Department of Education last month announced that Tennessee is a winner in the first phase of the “Race to the Top” education grant competition — and will get $500 million to finance some major education reforms.
But what kind of a deal is it when $500 million “comes in” for education but $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion “goes out” in the cost of ObamaCare?