Heard on the Web

Aquinas Heard argues in a recently published LTE that whether vouchers are good or bad for public schools is beside the point; the proper question to ask, according to him, is what their exact relationship is to the choice a parent has with regards to their child's education.

The question should be: Will vouchers expand parent’s educational freedom? There can be no expansion of freedom when the funding of vouchers still rest on the forcible appropriation of a citizens’ earnings through taxation.

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Until vouchers are funded by completely voluntary means, Georgians who are supporters of individual rights must state unequivocally: Vouchers equal wrong choice.

I think the LTE raises a crucial point, that the funding of vouchers via taxation makes them just as opposed to freedom (and property rights) on a fundamental level as the funding of public schools.

However, from the standpoint of a parent, they do provide a choice between one school and another--a choice that can potentially mean a world of difference in the education of their child. This (superficial) meaning of freedom or choice is what most parents refer to and struggle to attain.

It's sad that even this superficial choice is impossible to many, let alone the choice of what to do with their own money (with regards to funding their own child's education or choosing not to fund the education of other's children).

If freedom is the standard, and it should be, coercion needs to be removed from education completely. Not just in its funding, but in its enrollment too. The way to get more choice in the meantime is not with vouchers but with tax credits for education.

(Hat tip: The Sidereal Messenger)