There was a Great Recession in the year 2008 until 2009 that caused great decline in tax revenues in all cities and states. The reason why the government funds public education in the United States is because there was an adjustment made in the national budget to sustain the government's ability to provide assistance to the country. By cutting education budgets, most of which is to fund on public education. Obama's $800 billion stimulus package included $100 billion for public schools, which every state used to protect its educational budget.