FREE TO CHOOSE CHAPTER 6 WHAT’S WRONG WITH OUR SCHOOLS?

I. INTRODUCTION Early settlers established schools almost immediately At first, mostly private and voluntary Later, compulsory and public “Instead of fostering assimilation and harmony, our schools are increasingly a source of the very fragmentation that they earlier did so much to prevent.”

II. ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION: THE PROBLEM K-12 and higher education have suffered due to increased centralization and gov’t control Why haven’t economies of scale been recognized? “When the consumer is free to choose, size will survive only if it is efficient.” What are the problems you see with elementary and secondary education? Is there competition between private and public schools?

III. A VOUCHER PLAN FOR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLING Give voucher to parents that provides a sum of money equal (or nearly equal) to the tax and allow student to go to a school of choice School could be either private or public

III. A VOUCHER PLAN FOR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLING Possible problems or criticisms of plan: 1)Church-state issue Courts would likely rule against vouchers based on 1st Amendment Next-best alternative would be to implement voucher but exclude religious schools 2)Financial cost With slight modifications, voucher system would cost no more 3)Possibility of fraud Voucher only valid for approved schools and redeemed for cash by those schools 4)Racial issue Choice would promote common interests that would promote integration

III. A VOUCHER PLAN FOR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLING Possible problems or criticisms of plan: 5)Economic class issue Friedman argues neighborhoods would become more heterogeneous Poor would be helped the most 6)Doubt about new schools A dynamic, new market would develop Competition would cause schools to satisfy their customers 7)The impact on public schools Competition would only make public schools better

III. A VOUCHER PLAN FOR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLING Should K-12 attendance be mandatory or optional? If optional, when does student (or parent) get to decide? Discuss the various objections to a voucher plan. Imagine a world with vouchers. What would it look like? Should K-12 be identical across schools? Why or Why not?

IV. THE OBSTACLES TO A VOUCHER PLAN Very simply, the educational establishment is the major obstacle Why do teachers oppose school choice?

V. HIGHER EDUCATION: THE PROBLEMS Quality and equity are main problems but voluntary attendance alters the problems Quality: Because tuition is relatively low at public schools, student quality is lower Faculty are not usually rewarded for good teaching so quality of teaching is lower Private schools usually have better teaching and higher retention and graduation rates Is higher education financing “disgraceful”? How could you improve teaching quality at universities? What would be the consequences of reputation for really bad teaching?

V. HIGHER EDUCATION: THE PROBLEMS Equity: two justifications for using tax money 1)Social benefits Most of the argument is simply bad economics Some external benefits may exists but they have never been adequately measured Surely, the social benefits are less than total gov’t subsidies 2)Equal educational opportunity While some poor people are helped, most of the subsidy benefit goes to middle and upper class Effectively, the poor subsidize the rich to go to college

V. HIGHER EDUCATION: THE PROBLEMS Discuss the impact that Georgia’s HOPE scholarship and Florida’s Bright Futures have on social benefits and equal opportunity. Does higher education really produce social benefits? Does it produce more or less social benefit than K-12?

VI. HIGHER EDUCATION: THE SOLUTION Radical reform- eliminate taxpayer subsidies Less radical- voucher plan, just like K-12, and good for any private or public school Alternative to gov’t finance- equity investment; have students pay back a portion of their career income What if all higher education institutions were private? How would major choices be impacted if equity investment were adopted?