TEARING

DOWN
THE
WALL
$1,000,000 Challenge
Endowed by their Creator
Danbury Baptists
Above My Pay Grade
Father Knows Best
2 for 2
US Constitution
Ratified
July 1788
Lady Liberty surrounded by figures representing Order, Authority, Council, and Research
 Let the States Decide How

25% of each State’s Production

Education
Education
Education
 Education:
Today’s Civil Rights Struggle
 Education

20 to 33%
7 X Funding since 1945
 The US is Below Average

Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development

The US has one of the highest funding levels
Diversity Lacking
Economics of the Educational System
• Economic analysis indicates the structure
of the educational system may well be a
contributing factor to its high cost and poor
student performance of recent decades.
• Education is largely provided by
government-operated firms with substantial
monopoly power.
• Competition is largely absent; educational
consumers have limited choice among
schools.
• Because it is costly for parents and students
to shift away from low-quality schools, they
are in a weak position to discipline and
direct schools.
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Economics of the Educational System
• Public school administrators have a strong
incentive to expand their budgets by seeking
additional funding from budgetary agencies,
but have a weak incentive to cater to the
views of parents and students.
• This structure is likely to result in higher
schooling costs and a disconnect between
the quality (and structure) of schools and the
preferences of educational consumers.

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Through hard work and perseverance my father got a
scholarship to study in a magical place, America, that
shone as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so
many who had come before.

They imagined me going to the best schools in the

land, even though they weren’t rich, because in a
generous America you don’t have to be rich to achieve
your potential.

The people I meet…don’t expect government to solve

all their problems. They know they have to work hard to
get ahead, and they want to…they will tell you they
don’t want their tax money wasted, by a welfare agency
or by the Pentagon.
Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that
government alone can’t teach our kids to learn; they know that parents
have to teach, that children can’t achieve unless we raise their
expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander
that says a black youth with a book is acting white.

They know those things. People don’t expect -- People don't expect
government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their
bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that
every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of
opportunity remain open to all.They know we can do better. And they
want that choice.

Barack Obama 2004 DNC Keynote Address

 Solution
• Fund and Protect the Child, not the
System
• Equality of Funding Per Child, rich or poor.
• Freedom of School Choice
• Savings go to reduce taxes and pay for
college educations
• Government financed, not run
• Copy the University System and that of
Canada’s Alberta province
Example
 Dollars and Cents

• Columbus Public School $10,356

• Bishop Waterson $4,825
• Difference $5,531
 Solution
• Child given a Scholarship for $10,356
• Child chooses Waterson
• Child saves $5,531
• ½ of $5,531 ($2,766) returned to State
• ½ invested in 529 College Savings Account
 Benefits
• Better Education
• Equal funding for all
• More choices, competition
• Lower cost to tax payers
• Parent selects school not the State
• Makes college more affordable
Impact of Structural Change
• Thus far, movement towards school choice
has been modest. Preliminary findings
indicate:
• The achievement scores of African-American
students tend to be higher after one to two
years in voucher programs.
• The impact of charter schools on student
achievement is inconclusive.
• Most parents of students in charter schools
and voucher programs indicate they are
highly satisfied with their children’s schools.
• Targeted voucher programs tend to increase
racial integration in schools in highly
segregated communities.
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Jump to first page Economics. All rights reserved.
$1,000,000 Bet