On March 3rd, 2009 at 5:21 am, WarTip said:

On March 2nd, 2009 at 11:25 pm, NestingHawk said: Please explain to me how school vouchers are not just another government handout. Like I say with everything else, if you want to send other people’s kids to private school, please start a charity and fund it yourself.

If you can find anyone in the bloated bureaucracy to put an end to this farce known as federal education indoctrination, get rid of the NEA and taxpayer funded schooling altogether on anything but a local level, I am with you. Other than that, any alternative that allows the children to be educated has other benefits.

Is the NEA private or government? If it’s government, I have no problem getting rid of it. If taxes are going to it, I would like that to stop. I would certainly like to completely dismantle the Federal Department of Education, which has no business existing.
The only reason I would even want to keep local government-funded education for the time being is so that a couple of generations don’t slip through while the private education industry builds up to a healthy level.
Nobody suggests a government program without thinking it has some kind of benefit. Is it the government’s job? Is it something the government as opposed to the private sector should be doing? Is it something the government has any right to use my money for?

It keeps the money out of the hands of the NEA and other unions which could in reality care less about the children or their education.

No, it doesn’t. The government would just take enough money from the citizens or run up the deficit to pay for both.

It gives children the opportunity to learn viable skills that may help them to actually be capable of competing in our increasingly global society.

Why is this the function of government rather than private charity? What gives the government the right to take my money to do this? I have problems of conscience with a lot of these private schools. You should not assume that because a school is private it is a good school. I don’t wish to interfere with people giving their own funds to charities they like, but I don’t want other voters and politicians choosing my “charitable” contributions for me. I should decide what charities are the best places for my paycheck, and you should decide what charities are the best places for your paycheck. We should not have say over each other’s.

It does at least afford minimal protection against juvenile thugs and other “undesirables” whose “education” indoctrination is deemed to be some type of constitutional right despite their disruption, lack of desire to learn and sometimes blatant violence.

Don’t assume juvenile thugs are absent from private schools, either.
I don’t mind talking about measures of safety for the kids, including potentially charter schools and tax breaks. We should not be forcing children to go to places where they are unsafe. However, I think there are other and better solutions than giving government handouts “for the children” to be used in private sector institutions that taxpayers have no say over but the politicians have decided they like. Charter schools. Tax breaks that allow usage of a different school. Better handling of juvenile thugs. Allowing teachers to concealed carry.

If you can think of a way to get rid of the national system, I am behind you with all I can do but until then, the lesser of two evils may still be evil but sometimes … well … if it is your only hope.

I don’t find it so much of a “hope” as “another toxin.” I do want to vote people into office who will get rid of the national system; sounds like we can agree on that much. I just think government handouts do more harm than good, no matter which side of the political aisle is enamoured of the charity it wants to give everyone else’s money to.

And sorry for the loooong delay in posting. Sometimes I just don’t have the chance to post for a couple of days.

On March 2nd, 2009 at 11:25 pm, NestingHawk said: Please explain to me how school vouchers are not just another government handout. Like I say with everything else, if you want to send other people’s kids to private school, please start a charity and fund it yourself.

If you can find anyone in the bloated bureaucracy to put an end to this farce known as federal education indoctrination, get rid of the NEA and taxpayer funded schooling altogether on anything but a local level, I am with you. Other than that, any alternative that allows the children to be educated has other benefits.

It keeps the money out of the hands of the NEA and other unions which could in reality care less about the children or their education.

It gives children the opportunity to learn viable skills that may help them to actually be capable of competing in our increasingly global society.

It does at least afford minimal protection against juvenile thugs and other “undesirables” whose “education” indoctrination is deemed to be some type of constitutional right despite their disruption, lack of desire to learn and sometimes blatant violence.

If you can think of a way to get rid of the national system, I am behind you with all I can do but until then, the lesser of two evils may still be evil but sometimes … well … if it is your only hope.

When the country’s racial chasms seemed to threaten President Obama’s election, his team had to trea…

So much for priorities.

Rep. David Obey

Why am I not surprised? Obey’s from Wisconsin, where they’ve been trying to kill school choice for MPS kids (who are kind of in the same boat as DC kids).

Like DC, most of the kids who benefit from school choice here are minorities who are given an opportunity to escape a failing, bloated, corrupt school system.

Guess some kids are more important than others…