School Vouchers: A Step Backwards?
By Elizabeth Imeson
If indeed, "competition is merely the absence of oppression"*, than lack of competition is oppression. On the surface, the school voucher system seems appealing to those who are for the free market. But when further prodding is done, reality is discovered -- "Under the voucher system public education remains public education, and nothing fundamental has changed."[1]
With a school voucher, parents only have certain, restricted choices of schools at which to redeem the voucher. A limited choice is not a real choice at all. This would not be the case if education was privatized, in which case parents would have complete freedom in regards to decisions about where to send their children to school.
In his book, Vouchers Within Reason, James Dwyer explains, "The great promise of school vouchers is that they provide a mechanism for accomplishing what some states once tried to do…to rein in the practices of the worst religious schools, whose operators and parent clients vehemently and forcefully resist involuntary imposition of regulations." This quote perfectly illustrates how school vouchers violate the first amendment, which states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…"
The school voucher system ends up making education more regulated, instead of less. "The government regulates what it funds. Vouchers will inevitably open the door to extensive regulation of private religious schools [that accept them]."[2]
Restricted choice of school is not a real choice. Ultimately, school vouchers give the government more control over education rather than less. The government should give up its oxygen-squelching, death-grip on education, and let the free market, and the interests of consumers, dictate school choice. Relinquishing the $10,000 (on average) that the government spends per student would be a terrific start on the road to freedom from oppression.
* Frederic Bastiat said this [1] Dr. Dwight L. Lee, Professor of Economics @ the University of Georgia[2] The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United
Tags: government education, public education failure, school choice, school voucher system, School vouchers
Your thought here is correct but at least the Voucher System is a step in the right direction even if it won’t solve all of the problems. It would at least allow the government and the public to realize that there may be better ideas than just the public school system.
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Normally I prefer not to let the good be the enemy of the perfect. In this case, however, vouchers, however flawed, are a way to rescue inner city kids trapped in hopeless government schools where they live under the daily threat of violence.