public school choice - the only sane approach

natedogg · #1 07-13-2005, 01:17 AM

Read the article before you comment. I'm curious to see how anyone can continue to oppose school choice after reading an article like this.

http://reason.com/0001/fe.ml.rampaging.shtml

natedogg

BCPVP · #2 07-13-2005, 01:26 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I'm curious to see how anyone can continue to oppose school choice after reading an article like this.

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Easy. Join the teacher's union.

lastchance · #3 07-13-2005, 01:47 AM

Or live in a place with a decent school system. :P

Admittedly, this does not describe most inner-city schools, as well as certain states...

You wonder why they use DC for an example, and the answer is pretty obvious: DC public school system is crap.

The worse the regular public school system, the better private and charter schools look by comparison.

Just pointing out some of the bias in the article. Definitely agree with the conclusion though.

Also, "Bible-based values" is kind of a warning bell.

#4 07-13-2005, 02:16 AM

Reason.com is a libertarian site. I tend to be a centrist. A communist to some, and a fascist to others. You should look at sites which offer points of view which differ from yours. Also, you should take into account from where you read each article. EG, if the Los Angeles Times wrote it, you can bet it leans to the FAR left. If you got it from Rush Limbaugh, it came from the FAR right.

One other thing, there is one thing the article cannot refute, and it is a mathematical truth. People who already pay for private schooling will now get money back for doing nothing. They made the choice to pay extra instead of letting state tax take care of it, and if the voucher system goes through, they will get money back. Also, those who opt for private schools have more money to spend, and therefore the price of education is less overall fro them (in opportunity costs.) In other words, it's a tax break for the rich!

lehighguy · #5 07-13-2005, 01:14 PM

I was unaware that there were any good public schools. Having gone to a "good" school district in the suburbs, I doubt they even exist.

lehighguy · #6 07-13-2005, 01:15 PM

This is the stupidest line of reasoning I've ever heard. Ever. I'm not even going to get into how stupid it is because a million other people are going to jump onto this and flame you for me.

JackWhite · #7 07-13-2005, 02:32 PM

[ QUOTE ]
One other thing, there is one thing the article cannot refute, and it is a mathematical truth. People who already pay for private schooling will now get money back for doing nothing. They made the choice to pay extra instead of letting state tax take care of it, and if the voucher system goes through, they will get money back. Also, those who opt for private schools have more money to spend, and therefore the price of education is less overall fro them (in opportunity costs.) In other words, it's a tax break for the rich!

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Now that the government has a prescription drug program, is that a tax cut for the rich if they can qualify, like they do for social security? I have to say Abe, that argument is rather weak. If you oppose school choice, you need to find a better arguement than that one.

Analyst · #8 07-13-2005, 06:40 PM

Of greater concern to me, and something that I've almost never seen discussed, is the impact of vouchers on the price of private schooling. Does anyone doubt that private schools, at least in areas such as mine where demand is high, would raise their prices in response to the widespread availability of vouchers?

In the short term, at least, demand would increase while supply remained constant, and prices would of necessity increase. Rich people will get a break, some middle-income people who had been on the margin will now be able to afford private schooling, but I suspect that lower-income families will remain, for the most part, shut out.

Long term is potentially a different story, depending on how the supply of (hopefully high quality, but perhaps not) private schooling can increase.

[censored] · #9 07-13-2005, 07:09 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Of greater concern to me, and something that I've almost never seen discussed, is the impact of vouchers on the price of private schooling. Does anyone doubt that private schools, at least in areas such as mine where demand is high, would raise their prices in response to the widespread availability of vouchers?

In the short term, at least, demand would increase while supply remained constant, and prices would of necessity increase. Rich people will get a break, some middle-income people who had been on the margin will now be able to afford private schooling, but I suspect that lower-income families will remain, for the most part, shut out.

Long term is potentially a different story, depending on how the supply of (hopefully high quality, but perhaps not) private schooling can increase.

[/ QUOTE ]

You can't assume that economic theory will work in the short term and not assume the same for the long term. What about the, or which of the required resources used to supply a school makes you believe those resources would be limited in the longterm in any significant or noteworthy way?

Perhaps this is why it is not being discussed.

lastchance · #10 07-13-2005, 07:50 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I was unaware that there were any good public schools. Having gone to a "good" school district in the suburbs, I doubt they even exist.

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, I haven't gone to a private school. Might be different, but I know how to read, do math, play poker. So I think I'm fine. :P

Of course, my school isn't anywhere near Lakeside (the school Bill Gates and Paul Allen went to) good, for example, nor any public school. But it's not like most private schools are Lakeside good either.