Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Just a few Points about My Position on Vouchers

I hope voucher supporters are successful getting more of the conservative states to enact statewide programs. Advantage "blue" states.

Besides adding a profit motive to scarce taxpayer resources, voucher schools are already gaming the system, while private schools are already asking for more money to support and expand existing schools. These rising costs will soon meet or exceed per student prices conservatives complain about now in the public sector, and voucher advocates will eventually pay more, losing the current money saving advantage.

Here are two examples: Wasted Taxpayer dollars, Charters need More.

Most articles refer only of political wins, not actual program accountability or student improvements that can be quantified. It seems voucher advocates want to ignore the fact that private schools don't have to listen to or work with voucher parents. They can pretend like they care, just like the customer service departments at Wal-Mart, but that hardly passes as real concern.

My hope is the states taking this plunge will reap the costs and student failure rates we're seeing now in study after study. It may sacrifice a few million children's educational opportunities, but it would be better for few states to fail than the entire country. Keep up the down the "rabbit hole thinking" for purely ideological reasons. Voucher backer Mitch Daniels, who defended the Bush tax cuts by saying (paraphrasing)"Don't worry, we have surpluses as far as the eyes can see," is as right about vouchers as he was about federal tax cuts.

This proves once again that actual policy results take a back seat to the Republicans obsession with winning political battles base on ideology.

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