This article goes into great detail about "incentives" to get kids to attend school. What happened to consequences for missing school? What has happened to parenting that this is allowed to continue?

I believe this is a significant indicator of the decline in the US. These kids are not going to have a clue about the national debt, dangers of socialism, or how to even think logically. These kids who have gotten used to skipping school whenever they feel like it are going to turn into workers that skip work when they feel like it. That won't end well, for them or their employers.