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SCHOOL CHOICE: Making crooked paths straight
From the
Bluegrass Institute, an independent
research and educational institution offering free-market solutions
to Kentucky's most pressing problems.
“In the department of economy, an act … gives birth not to an effect, but a
series of effects,” write French economist and philosopher Frederic Bastiat.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in public education.
When Bastiat wrote his famous “That which is seen, and that which is not seen”
essay in 1850, public education was still in its infancy. Today, Kentucky
experiences the effects of a government-run education system in the form of high
dropout rates, widening achievement gaps and stagnant test scores.
Yet just as we are suffering from the ill-fated decisions of yesteryear, so
making the crooked paths straight today can bear positive results in the future.
If Kentucky’s policymakers will support educational freedom, there will be the
obvious benefit of allowing kids to escape failing schools and improve their
chances for a successful life. In addition, an act such as legislation offering
school choice in Kentucky could lead to a series of effects that would have an
outstanding impact on our economy.
Recent research by The Yankee Institute shows that offering school-choice
alternatives can actually improve a state’s fiscal condition. In fact, it’s
startling how many policymakers try to solve state fiscal crises without ever
considering the cost of public education, which – as it does in Kentucky –
usually consumes a large portion of the budget pie.
“The budget problem of the states cannot be solved until there is systemic
reform of the educational system,” said Richard Vedder, Distinguished Professor
of Economics at Ohio University.
Educational freedom carries with it a series of effects, including some
much-needed help in addressing budget deficits that threaten our state’s
economic health. For obvious – and not so obvious – reasons, Kentucky’s
policymakers should make school choice an immediate priority.
Sources:
“End State and Local Budget Deficits with School Choice” by Lewis M.
Andrews, The Yankee Institute
“The Impact of School Choice Certificates on New Hampshire’s Education Trust
Fund” by Brian J. Gottlob
“The seen…and the unseen” by Aaron Morris, Bluegrass Institute
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