Talk Radio:
Bill Bennett
Mike Gallagher
Dennis Prager
Michael Medved
Hugh Hewitt
BREAKING NEWS
Register
|
Sign In
Search
SIGN UP NOW!
Columns, funnies & more in your inbox!
Login
|
What's Hot
Townhall Daily Alert
Your daily must-read of conservative columns, cartoons and news. Coulter, Sowell, Krauthammer and more.
White House & Capitol Report
Townhall.com’s weekly inside scoop on what’s happening behind the scenes in the world of politics. When news breaks, we report.
Daily Conservative Cartoon
Signup to receive the latest daily Townhall cartoons
Columnists
|
News
|
Video
|
Podcasts
|
Photos
|
Cartoons
|
Blog
|
Your Blogs
|
Issues
|
Get Magazine
|
Finance
Mike Gallagher
|
Mary Katharine Ham
|
Hugh Hewitt
|
Michael Medved
|
Michael Barone
|
Thomas Sowell
|
Tony Blankley
|
Ann Coulter
|
Dennis Prager
|
More
Wednesday, July 24, 2002
Educational vouchers
by
Walter E. Williams
0
Walter E. Williams' Email
|
Walter E. Williams
|
Author Biography
Read Comments
|
Post Comments
Forward
Print
Share
Single Page
Vote on It:
Average Vote:
[+]
Text
[-]
Will Sarah Palin make a run at the GOP Nomination in 2012?
Yes
No
Unsure
Yes (44 %)
No (34 %)
Unsure (21 %)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Cleveland school voucher case, Zelman vs. Simmons-Harris, that taxpayer funds that go to parents who might use the money to enroll their children in religious schools was constitutional. One need not be a rocket scientist to understand why. The Constitution's First Amendment says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion ..." Devious and ignorant lawyers, judges and politicians exhibit little respect or understanding of the Framer's intent behind the First Amendment. England had an established church -- the Church of England -- supported by the taxpayers. Its members were given privileges that were denied to members of other congregations. The Framers were Englishmen and feared the creation of a similar state church in our country. If state and local governments choose to finance education, and they give parents a voucher to be spent at schools of the parent's choosing, only an intellectual or a person with legal training will see that as government establishment of a state church -- a Church of United States. With that kind of reasoning, food stamps would also violate the Constitution's "establishment of religion" clause. Why? Because people of the Jewish faith might use their food stamps for the purchase of kosher food, and that too should be seen as the government establishing a state church. The same applies to those who'd give part of their Social Security check as their weekly church offering. The First Amendment arguments by opponents of vouchers and school choice have always been bogus. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has held it as such, they will no doubt shift their focus to: "We must save public schools instead of draining money away for school choice." That, too, is bogus. Try a little math. Take Washington, D.C., which spends over $10,000 per student for education whose student achievement would be dead last if Mississippi chose to secede from the Union. Suppose Washington gave each parent even a $5,000 voucher -- that wouldn't mean less money available per student. To the contrary, holding total education expenditures constant, it'd mean more money per student remaining in public schools. School choice opponents are also dishonest when they speak of saving public schools. A
Heritage Foundation
survey found that 47 percent of House members and 51 percent of senators with school-age children enrolled them in private schools in 2001. Public school teachers enroll their children in private schools to a much greater extent than the general public, in some cities close to 50 percent. This also applies to the black elite. Jesse Jackson, for example, sent his son to Washington's most elite private school. One particularly insidious argument of voucher opponents is that vouchers will "skim" away the more academically talented students whose parents want better and safer schools for them. That's a vision that's hideous and rotten to the core. It says that such students should be held hostage, unable to escape rotten schools and be academically destroyed, in the name of saving public schools at some distant, yet undetermined, unpromised date. One of the strongest arguments in favor of educational vouchers and choice is: When a society decides to publicly finance a good or service, it doesn't follow that it must be publicly produced. We publicly finance F-16 fighter jets, but there's no government F-16 fighter jet factory. That same principle applies to education. We can publicly finance education, but where it's produced should be determined on the basis of economic efficiency. Where can we get the biggest bang for the buck? All the self-serving arguments of school choice opponents are bogus. Saving public education is not the same as, and may indeed be exactly the opposite to, saving children.
Share:
Digg
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Newsvine
My Web
MySpace
Forward
Print
Single Page
Vote on It:
Average Vote:
About The Author
Dr. Williams serves on the faculty of George Mason University as John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics and is the author of
More Liberty Means Less Government: Our Founders Knew This Well
.
TOWNHALL DAILY: Be the first to read Walter Williams' column.
Sign up today
and receive Townhall.com daily lineup delivered each morning to your inbox.
News Articles On This Topic
Lawmakers say health overhaul has been slowed
Obama says slavery's past should be taught in US
Feinstein suggests CIA concealment broke law
Officials push for health care in spite of delay
GOP unifies against any more stimulus spending
Sotomayor faces friendly jury as hearings begin
Obama phones Sotomayor on eve of hearings
After 2 tough summits, Obama savors Ghana moment
Feinstein: CIA concealment may have broken the law
Sessions: Sotomayor must show she can be neutral
Popular Articles By
Williams
Dumbest Generation Getting Dumber
Vicious Academic Liberals
Live Free or Die
Join The Debate!
Post Your Comment
(
0
comments so Far)
View in ascending order
View in descending order
(
Read all 0 comments
)
Sign Up to Post Your Comments
Sign Up to Post Your Comments
If you are already registered, click
here
to login. Otherwise, please take a few seconds to register with Townhall.com. Once you sign up, you’ll be able to post your comments immediately, use the action center, get podcasts, and more!
Need an account?
Login
Login
Your Email:
Password:
Get Your Password
|
Register
Note: Fields marked with a red asterisk (
*
) are required.
Salutation:
Mr.
Mrs.
Ms.
Miss.
First Name:
*
Last Name:
*
Email:
*
Nickname:
*
Note:
Nick name will be shown when you post comments.
Address 1:
*
Address 2:
City:
*
State:
AE
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
*
Zip:
*
Phone:
Townhall Daily Alert
Your daily must-read of conservative columns, cartoons and news. Coulter, Sowell, Krauthammer and more.
Townhall.com Spotlight
(Bi-Weekly) We highlight the best opportunities from our partners for surveys, action items and more.
New Blog Posts
Video
Audio
A Momentous Decision
posted at 12:48 PM
Smearing the "Little People"
posted at 03:12 PM
Better Than the Pope -- He's the Messiah!
posted at 03:07 PM
Morning Market Update
posted on:06/05/2009
Keepin' Away the Skeeters
posted on:06/05/2009
Man vs. Animal
posted on:06/05/2009
The Final Word Hr 2
posted on:06/13/2009
Panel Discussion: Remembering Reagan
posted on:06/23/2009
H3: Vince Flynn
posted on:07/11/2009
Today's Columns
Gingrich Cushman :
Immune to Reality
Chapman :
Trivial Pursuit in Washing...
Stokes :
The County and the School o...
Parker :
Death By Fame
Saunders :
It's Getting Cold Out The...
Will :
Higher Taxes, Anyone?
Connor :
Change: But In What Directi...
McCullough :
President Obama's 'Read...
Hill :
The $750,000 Government-Emplo...
Zito :
The Czaring of America
Giles :
Salvation by Moonwalking: Th...
Hewitt :
Congressman Kirk and GOP
Kennedy :
Obama's Climate of Fear
Kudlow :
The Road to Economic Demora...
Lambro :
Dems' Recruitment Failures ...
Lopez :
Fame's Funhouse Mirror
Kline :
Democrats' Health Care "Refo...
Prelutsky :
I'm Mad as Hell!
Tucker :
"Stimulus" Money: Men (Not)...
Galen :
Hardworking Public Servants
All Columns
AE
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Save my list
THANK YOU
Your email has been sent.
News
Video
Audio
ERICA WERNER : House Dems want to tax the rich for health care
PAMELA HESS : Lawmaker says CIA director ended secret program
ANNE FLAHERTY and JIM KUHNHENN : Geithner: Stimulus is working and on right path
STEVE GUTTERMAN : Medvedev warns US against missile shield
And Finally... Frog Wedding.
Fans Get Tickets For Jackson Memorial
Blind Pianist Wins Award
Jackson Memorial Costs 1.4 Million
Washington Beat July 7th
Senses Fail, Thrice, 3oh3, Saosin Kick Off 15th Warped Tour
Michelle Obama's Vision Of America
Governor Sarah Palin
James Lileks as Andrew Sullivan discussing the weather.
SRN Hourly News
Andrew Sullivan
Today's Cartoons
Sunday, Jul. 12
Lisa Benson
Eric Allie
Gary Varvel
Michael Ramirez
More