Here’s the latest in a long series of fumbles by PCE in their quest to make Utah the laboratory for a national right-wing experiment in school privatization, at our own expense. This card came in the mail today: “Whose opinion do you trust?” On the LEFT, it lists a who’s who of conservative icons (they forgot Jeb Bush), and on the RIGHT a supposedly scary rogues gallery of progressives.
The facts are against them, the Oreo cookies have crumbled, so PCE’s only remaining argument boils down to tribalism: where is your loyalty? I have to side with the “right” this time.
Of course, many of the people and organizations listed probably don’t even know Utah is voting to defeat a private school voucher referendum this Tuesday.
UPDATE: The Salt Lake Tribune has weighed in with a hard-hitting editorial against tax subsidies for private schools.
Referendum 1 was forced onto Tuesday’s ballot by a groundswell of opposition to vouchers by a populace unwilling to compromise their neighborhood schools by allowing tax revenue to be siphoned off to pay private school tuition.
…The voucher law would not only create a system of private schools that are not accountable to taxpayers, but deal a devastating blow to public schools.
#1 by Nephi on November 3, 2007 - 3:14 pm
One has to admit, however, that it is entirely refreshing to see so many Utahns forgo simply rubber-stamping the righty position and, at least this time around, actually think about what they are voting on and whose ox is likely to be gored as a result of their vote.
Utah may become a great state yet, and for reasons other than the greatest snow on earth.
#2 by VTSharon on November 3, 2007 - 4:24 pm
Wow. Talk about a last-ditch effort to save the voucher law. I almost feel sorry for PCE.
#3 by Israel on November 3, 2007 - 7:32 pm
Utah voters now have it in their power to start a revolution and overthrow the real power players in America – the unelected union bosses who control the $500 BILLION annual educational monopoly, which generates $2 BILLION annually into union coffers. Much of this money is used to grease the wheels of government. Our children our kept hostage in poor governement schools to keep this oligarchy in power.
#4 by Marshall on November 3, 2007 - 7:43 pm
Is it me or have the voucher supporters been unusually shrill lately? The pinko commie socialist comments are being thrown around fast and quick. Does it smell like desperation or what? I think the voters know that this is getting stupid.
#5 by JamesR on November 3, 2007 - 8:40 pm
Nice conclusory rhetoric, there, Israel. Got anything to back it up?
#6 by Homer on November 4, 2007 - 12:56 am
Come on Israel, is that all you go? Some mythical monopoly? Some monlithic ccouncil controls 500 billion dollars through their magical control wands. Heck if any of these teachers could actually wave that wand and force kids to do their homework, then we would be talking.
I guess locally elected school boards with governing authority have nothing to say about the education of their constituents. Hooray for your revolution. You can overthrow these guys and let Educational Entrepenuer, Incorporated show us how control and power really work–and make a tidy profit at the same time!
#7 by Cliff Lyon on November 4, 2007 - 9:00 am
It is difficult to imagine anything worse for public education than a government-run, taxpayer funded exodus from this public trust.
I went to hear Patrick Byrne* OverStock.com) defend vouchers on Friday night. His several premises were based upon the two most radically over-hyped, over-simplified canards suffocating progress in our country today.
Those are free-market capitalism, and individual responsibility.
He argued that no teacher or school administrator cares about a child as much as its parent. Now, Patrick has a doctorate of philosophy from a very prestigious university (Cambridge or Standford). In either case, his professors would choke on this argument.
It does not follow that one who cares most will make the best decision for a child, nor does it follow that my tax dollars should fund individual parental choice.
Patrick also compared the proprietor of the establishment in which we were gathered, to schools. The owner of Piper Down was motivated to make our experience as pleasant as possible thus our choices would be followed by our money thus the best possible use of it. (i.e. public schools would lose business and therefore react as if a free-market competitor and somehow be motivated to improve.)
Based upon this logic, the best school is a function of customer satisfaction – bullet proof logic in a market with high demand for education or at least a fun place to stash kids during the day so they will hop right out of bed, dress, and be waiting at the door to go to where? Well, somewhere.
So I got to thinking, if I can create a school kids LOVE, I’ll be rich…as long as I don’t pay teachers too much.
I’ll carefully balance all day elective recess and free snacks well packaged to reflect the high nutritional value (in the glue holding the bag together). For the fat kids, I’ll have extra-large portions on a menu of favorites by grade. For k-12 I’ll have pizza everyday and lots of chocolate desserts.
Everyone knows kids are the single strongest influencers in consumer behavior. So I would teach the kids to talk about why they love my school so much. Sure I might lose some business to the really smart parents who don’t trust their kids to make choices in their own best interest, but hey, they are the minority.
The free market promises one thing for sure, the freedom to be stupid.
*In addition to his success in the free-market and his new found interest in public policy, The Byrnes are fantastic philanthropists giving away million to education world-wide. We applaud them for that and hope that they will invest as much time, energy and money in improving public education in Utah even after vouchers are defeated.