I agree with you that the same danger arise with tax credits, but there are reasons to think it's less likely - see Nevada's program. And there are ways to set up the tax credit system to incentivize people to pay for poor children. If Zuckerberg had used his $100 million to help children go to the school of their choice, rather than be thrown down the drain by the public schoolls....

I agree that something needs to be done about the education monopoly. I argue for tax credits as an alternative to the danger of vouchers and how even the poorest could be served with tax credits.

here is an idea. education should be funded by USER FEES. if you don't have anyone that needs an education, you should not pay for some one else's education. if you drive a car on a public highway, you pay a user fee in the form of fuel taxes. if you want to see a national; park, you pay a fee to get in. if you want to stay in a campground, public or private, you pay a user fee. and if you choose to home school your kids you can do it very inexpensively. so why should a home schooler pay for some one else's kids education if they choose a more expensive way

Excellent reasoning and why Hillsdale College refuses Federal dollars for college loans.

You can't put your child in a private school in Houston, Texas for $10K...better make that $25K!

There are already government-mandated standards private schools must meet in order to satisfy the mandatory-education laws. Any voucher program should specify that vouchers may be spent at any school which meets the standards in existence at the time the program was instituted. This would avoid the danger of creeping regulation.

Very well said.

Government should not be in the business of education. We need to take another path now. The system is collapsed.

In reply to qhrjk's comment: The good news in your comments is that you (and your classmates) were required to read Anthem. You are lucky to have a teacher who recognizes the value of that book and I suspect the teacher is delighted to have even ONE student get it ;-)

So, don't do something BETTER out of FEAR of future control?

Sounds like a bad argument.

No! DEMAND Vouchers, and DEMAND The government step aside. Parents absorb the risk by choosing which schools will produce what they need. PERIOD.

As the father of a gifted Child (2 university degrees at 19). It is MY JOB to drive her. And she started out in Montessori, and loved it, but then their prices sky rocketed, and she was put in public schools (augmented with my own in house preparation). I believe she was 11/12 when she PASSED her SATs, but went to middle school, and when the bullying started, we found a better option for her.

She loved it, and loved being around other bright kids, where she was one of many, not the top of the class. It challenged her. It taught her more empathy.

But the lack of vouchers is destroying some communities. Where your address (all your parents can afford) determines your education.

And they BEAT the LOVE of LEARNING out of you! And if they don't, the bullies and other students do!

You failed to address the fact that the FAILING schools will probably be forced to let the teachers go (all union, all driving BMWs by me)... And start over!

Stop public "education" now, once and for all.

A brilliant insight and iteration.
Have you had the pleasure of meeting John Holt, John Gatto or Lil Katz?
A friend of mine, from high school days, and I, are returning to Manitowoc WI within the next 6 to 8 months. We've only recently reconnected. Both of us are firmly against any standardized education system. Both grew up in households with parents who taught in the local and regional schools, K-collegiate. We've forgotten how many times "budget" correlated with "State" or "Federal" overtones of financing were spoken in front of us.....usually in some context of disdain. Well....we've decided on the "medium" of theater to use as a teaching platform. Both of us have extensive life skills to entreat the enthusiasm of the young into self-directed learning. Tangible interaction is one of the most important keys. In my dad's words: I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.

I don't see tax credits as essentially different from vouchers. It will still be dependent upon the tuition being paid for a "legitimate school" -- as defined by the the government and the camel gets its nose under the tent on the other side.

Also while lots of middle class people could use help, the poorest among us are most likely to be stuck in failing schools with no help of rescue.

So you're really not against vouchers at all, but against having the curriculum designated/mandated by government. That's an entirely different problem.

Vouchers should go through the parents so Feds have no foothold with the private school the parents select.

Send your child to a private school and you're looking at $10K or greater per year for a lower-end school. So practically speaking, the public system of "education" has no competition today. I've been a college Board member, and have seen the beast from the inside. It NEEDS competition. I totally get your concern about the Feds getting involved, but we sorely need to break the monopoly of public indoctrination of our children. Vouchers offers that as a potential solution.

Oh sorry, William Shipley pointed out I'd put the wrong link - I had uploaded several things today.

Thanks for catching that, I fixed it! Recently published at FEE. I messed up uploading several things at one time. ;-(

In the article I outline the dangers of vouchers and offer an alternative to get kids out of the government schools.

If you read the article, you'll see I'm not against other means of helping kids get out of the public school system and into good education. I outline the reasons why vouchers specifically are dangerous.

I can understand your pessimism about your peers, but I'm hopeful you're wrong. I'm hopeful that there are more people out there whom we can reach and I think using every means possible is important.
The graphic novel is true to the book, so anyone reading it gets Rand's actual words.
So many kids are just so jaded by school, they hardly respond to anything they "have' to read. That's a huge problem. But this might reach them even when it wouldn't if they "had" to read it.
Oftentimes the disruptive kids in class are intelligent ones who haven't come across stuff that makes enough sense, so they checked out.
If we can reach that active minority, that's great! If we can influence the sense of life of others, that's important too.

Oh, it's from the article about Anthem, not the one about vouchers - so no direct link! But glad you like the quote.
On top of everything of course the kids love their technology, while reviling capitalism! Oh, the stories I could tell you about that and college students...

I love this quote.
Our present-day culture is paradoxical. On the one hand, there’s tremendous admiration for great achievements, shown through the passion for Steve Jobs’ work, the celebration of SpaceX and Blue Horizons, and the enthusiasm for Airbnb’s offerings. On the other hand, there are the endless attacks on capitalism as an evil, greed-laden system and an obsession with “equality.” The consequence: the resurgence of socialism as an ideal, fueled by ignorance and guilt, on the part of the young, and deception on the part of the old who should know better.

I don't see what any of this has to do with vouchers, but I like the idea of a graphic novel that's a gateway to another gateway (the original books) to radical ideas of liberty.

Only now does me dino realize that it was a good idea to adapt Anthem into a graphic novel.

I am for vouchers.

I know DiBlasio is hell-set against vouchers and anything he is against is good for education.

Yes to vouchers.