You know, after that last post, I just came up with an idea that would not only save the taxpayers money, but have a major effect on improving our educational system. Congress should pass a law denying federal aid or loans to students getting degrees in education. Force them to get a real degree, in which they might have to actually learn something.

It would probably put most colleges of education out of business, something that can't happen too soon.

Can we extend that to other useless degrees as well? I sure wish the government had encouraged me to consider majoring in something that would actually help me get a job. My B.A. in German will be twenty years old in May, and it has never been of any use whatsoever.

I'm just glad I came to my senses before I completed a master's degree in Comparative Literature. No, I'm not joking.

Or consider whether the government ought to be in the student loan business at all? Picking winners is not easy. Guaranteeing loans irrespective of degree is easier, but crowds out private lending. With the return on a college education exceeding the return on auto loans, that doesn't seem to be wise policy.