Social Programs, which one would you support?

If our government were allowed to fund one, and only one, of the following social programs, which should it be and why? (1) Free public education for all US citizens, starting at kindergarten up through Associates Degree (or comparable professional certification). (2) Free health-care (medical and dental) for all US citizens for life. (3) Food stamps that can only be used to buy food for children who are US citizens, but that would be enough to eliminate child hunger nationwide. (4) Retirement pay (social security) for all US citizens who worked at least 20 years in the US, starting at age 65. (5) Disability pay for all US citizens who are unable to work because of physical disability, injury or illness. (6) None of the above. Give the money back to the taxpayers. If the government could only fund one of these programs, which would you pick, and why.
--------------------
Absolutely education, as it's the key that allows anything close to equal access to the nebulous concept of the American dream. I don't like #6 because that essentially throws away the government as one essential tool we use to deal with issues that affect us all. I don't have any kids receiving public education, but I'm happy to pay taxes for it because it is so essential to the economy, and to my safety, as it also prevents crime. But, along those same lines, I believe that the others are also issues that affect us all. Of course, implicit within the question is the notion that the nation can't afford to fund all those things, and I think this is a flawed assumption. Half of all discretionary spending goes to the military, and our military spending is equal to that of the rest of the world combined. I think we could safely shift money away from that without in any way endangering our security. Plus there's the 12% or so that goes to paying interest on the national debt. Finally, it could easily be suggested that something like national health care would quickly pay for itself by promoting business (that would no longer be responsible to insure employees), shifting treatment from cures (very expensive) to the inexpensive prevention that comes with frequent care, and by greater efficiency. It's popular to denigrate the efficiency of all things governmental, but Medicare is actually far more efficient than any private insurer, devoting only about 5% of its money to administration as compared with something like 20% for private companies. Many similar arguments could be made for the other services. So, while within the constraints of the question I'd select education, I think all the services mentioned are not only affordable, but could even be profitable. After all, how much benefit is each of us really receiving for a billion dollar stealth bomber, when we're facing people armed with knives and hand grenades? By the way, thanks for helping to elevate the tone of this forum. I disagree with your positions sometimes, but I like that you don't resort to the uninformative name-calling that seems so ubiquitous, and actually challenge people to think seriously about serious issues.
Source