March 22, 2011
Save Education, Privatize Government Schools
There is an injustice going on in America. Millions of children in government schools are suffering under mediocre teachers and sub-standard facilities. The more these government schools fail, the more the government throws taxpayer money at them. All the while preventing millions of parents from being able to send their children to a good private school of their choice, because they've already been forced to subsidize government run education.
It's time to challenge this injustice head on. The Tea Party, and everyone who loves liberty, should advocate the privatization of government schools. As Andrew Bernstein, writing in The Objective Standard states:
"A private school cannot force customers to purchase its product, nor can it compel anyone to finance its existence, nor can it regulate or curtail the activities of its competitors. Because private schools are legally forbidden to use force, their existence and programs entail no violation of rights. Having to earn their customers and money, private schools possess strong economic incentive to provide excellent educational services. If they want to stay in business and flourish, they must make money by satisfying the educational requirements of students and their families; if they fail to do so, they face bankruptcy."
Imagine the competition among educational entrepreneurs, constantly bettering their educational establishments, and constantly making it more affordable to make a well-earned profit. Imagine the kind of renaissance in education that will happen, when the billions upon billions of dollars being spent to prop up ineffective government schools are brought back to the private sector.
This is the vision and alternative the Tea Party and all who want to stop the statist juggernaut must offer and fight for. This is the alternative that will lead to a truly great educational system.
(For a good article on some transitional politics on this subject, I recommend Michael LaFerrara's article, also in The Objective Standard, entitled "Toward a Free Market in Education: School Vouchers or Tax Credits?" Which is available for free in the TOS website.)