Education and Rotten Apples
“Suppose there was a law that forced you to pay a government agency for apples you were supposed to feed your children. The government didn’t care if you grew your own apples, or if your neighbor grew apples you liked better than the government’s brand, the law compelled you to pay for the state’s product whether you wanted it for your children or not. Now, suppose many people who actually fed their children public apples discovered something wrong with them. Some apples were bitter, others mushy, and others rotten to the core… The public apple in this parable, of course, is public education—which is indeed rotten in many places… From just 1990 to 2003, average per pupil spending increased 25%, from $7,692 (in constant 2003-2004 dollars) to $9,644. This big run-up in spending did not cause a big run-up in student performance… Increasing per pupil spending by another 111%—whether it is done by compassionate conservatives in Washington, D.C., or plain old liberals in your home state—will not fix public schools. It’s time to give all American parents vouchers equal to the per-pupil spending in local government schools. Then parents can decide whether the government schools deserve their children—or whether they will try the apples elsewhere, thank you.” —Terence Jeffrey
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