Les Jones

This is an argument for vouchers? How? I think it's an argument for improving the schools for those on the South Side of Chicago. Or, barring that, for giving poor students on the South Side a chance to go to better public schools on the North Side. Or for encouraging the development of charter schools that better address the educational needs of the poor. Or for raising taxes on the rich in Winnetka to support those less able to pay. Yeah, a lot of options short of vouchers for private schools, which in Chicago usually means a declining Catholic school system.

Equalizing funding would help, but you can equalize the funding of the schools without equalizing the quality. There are plenty of bad school systems (e.g., Philadelphia) where the per-student spending is already well above the national average. If you equalize funding, Philadelphia's poorly-performing schools might receive less funding than they receive now.

The other thing is, you say the schools should be improved. Sure, but how? Obviously everyone wants better schools. The question is how to achieve that. A system like vouchers give students and parents a choice, which creates a market. The market separates the successful strategies for improving schools from the unsucessful ones.

While you're waiting for schools on Chicago's southside to get their acts together the students can choose to go to better schools elsewhere. Obviously there's a limit for most people on how far they're willing to travel, but you get the idea.

Yes, get government out of the schools, and get them out of even cutting checks for "vouchers", I say. That little bit still affords them control over what school gets to be on their special list of "approved" schools, afterall.

The government, the world over, has shown itself for the hording monster that it is, and it needs a good, sharp knife taken to its throat, and on more than this one front, though I'll take this one for starters thankyouverymuch.

Deregulate everything. Ditch the IRS and go with a flat consumptive tax. Do away with the alphabet agencies, most of the department heads and definitely the one responsible for mis-education. That'd be a good start.

I can't believe we live in a world where there are grown adults who absolutely believe in their hearts that things just HAVE to be made "fair" by way of governmental coercion, in regards to every damned thing we do with our lives. It's just enough to make me sick.

If we were able to keep people from competing with the post office, there would be no overnight express.

I thought breaking up Ma Bell was stupid. I now have unlimited long distance for $30/month.

I think a little competition would be good for education. Competition for students will create competition for good teachers.