The cost of education is rising and the quality is declining. This is the inherent problem with any product or service provided by government. Exorbitant school taxes are taking their toll, especially on those with fixed incomes. We need to to turn this trend around.

 

Why are computers and automobiles getting better and cheaper, but the opposite is true for education services?

 

The only way I know to improve quality and reduce costs is the free market. I trust parents to make good choices about their kids’ future a lot more than politicians. I also have full confidence in the charitable traditions of Pennsylvanians to voluntarily provide for the underprivileged. I know that the consumer demand for affordable, high quality education would create wonderful opportunities for entrepreneurs eager to compete for the parents’ business.

 

Sadly, the people have grown so accustomed to government authority over education that they can’t even imagine the alternatives. Everybody jokes about government waste, incompetence and corruption, but many are happy to send their pride and joy off to the government for 8 hours a day. We have a real problem on our hands.

 

I support the right of parents to select the appropriate education for their child. I am opposed to the use of force to make anyone pay for another family’s choice.

 

I will work to return control and responsibility of education to parents. As a first step towards that end, when elected, I will introduce legislation to end the compulsory nature of government schooling. This one simple step will dramatically improve the quality of education in Pennsylvania and save taxpayers millions of dollars.

 

Parents will be free to select the appropriate education for their children without interference or monitoring from state or local bureaucrats. Parents who chose to home educate or select non-government schools and apprenticeships will be free to do so. Ending the compulsory nature of government education will eliminate the large enforcement costs and also remove a major disruptive element in the government’s classrooms.

 

Because I am a proponent of free market solutions, sometimes people think that I would advocate school vouchers as a step in the right direction. However, I reject vouchers because they fail to address any of the root problems of our education system. They expand government power and endanger what is left of private education. I do not consider education vouchers a step in the right direction on either a practical or moral basis.

 

It’s wrong to steal wealth from one family and give it to another. Beyond the moral argument against voucher programs is the question of practicality. When private schools receive money from the state, the politicians, not the parents, become the customer to please.

 

 

“Most necessary reform: None. Reform implies the government is still involved. We need to transform America's collectivist approach to education into free-market education. This means ending not only compulsory funding but compulsory attendance and content. We must separate schools from the state.

 

Biggest obstacle: Tax-funded school vouchers are the biggest obstacle to improving education. They will again trick parents into believing school improvement is just around the corner. They could delay return to a genuine free market by a generation or more. Vouchers replace today's monopoly with a monopsony (single buyer). Schools will have only one customer to serve and it's not you. Follow the money.

 

As Douglas Dewey once asked, "How is moving from 88 percent of the school population in dependency to nearly 100 percent a good first step toward zero percent? What possibly could motivate edu-welfare parents to demand a lower and lower voucher?"…Embrace full choice. Start with your own children. Remove them from school-by-government. You'll not be paying twice for education: You'll pay taxes for the state to harm other people's children, but you'll pay only once for your children's education."