MS: The Honest Case for School Choice
Russ Latino spent a decade practicing business and constitutional law before he decided to launch the Magnolia Tribune Institute, an online news-ish purveyor of conservative stuff, funded by an odd assortment of foundations and trusts. That was a few years ago, and Latino has been cranking out aggressively cranky content ever since.
“The Dumb Leftist Argument Against School Choice That Won’t Go Away“ is a typical Latino screed, with bitching about “leftists” and a badly-reasoned argument.
But in his latest, “The House passed school choice, but what is it and why do conservatives want it?“ Latino actually offers a direct statement of why, in fact, school choice is a favorite among certain conservatives. Here’s the key quote:
Fundamentally, it is rooted in a very old conservative belief that parents, not the government, are responsible for raising and educating their children. They do not belong to the state. Parents know their children and have the most vested interest in their child’s success.
Emphasis mine. That’s it-- the heart of the argument, going all the way back to Milton Friedman, is that raising and educating children should be the responsibility of the parents-- and only the parents. Not shared by the community, not supported by the government or taxpayers, but just the parents, who should depend on their own resources-- and only their own resources-- to provide for that education.
Everything after that is an excuse, a way to sell this severe slashing of what most people have grown up considering a basic service.
How do I know guys like Latino aren’t serious about parents being able to choose? Because they envision a system in which control belongs to the school, not the parent. Latino runs the usual complaints that public schools are terrible and overrun by crazy leftists. What he doesn’t talk about is safeguards for people who choose to try to leave that system.
In his essay about the “dumb leftist argument,” he is pinpointing the argument about public dollars going to private schools. Hey, he points out, SNAP dollars go to private businesses.
That’s true. But what is also true is that no grocery store can say, “Sorry, you can’t buy your beans here, because you go the wrong church.” The grocery store can’t refuse to take your SNAP card because you are LGBTQ. The checker at the store can’t refuse to take your SNAP card “just because he doesn’t feel like it.” The store doesn’t say, “Since you’re getting SNAP benefits now, we’re going to raise the price on everything.”
Private schools can-- and do--do all of that. The fact that you have a voucher in your hand doesn’t mean jack. You are on your own.
School vouchers are the same principle that Trump proposes for health care. The government doesn’t want to subsidize your insurance any more, so why not let them just give you a few hundred bucks and you can go shopping for your own health care.
We’re throwing you off the grand boat that is our community. Here’s a raft and a small stick. Enjoy your freedom.
Guys like Latino are so very angry about how all those lefty organizations are denying parents educational options and yet have no anger left for private schools that tell parents, “Sorry about your voucher, but we don’t want your kid here. You can’t have your choice.”
Mississippi legislators have some choices to make; we’ll see just whose interests they serve.
Once again, this is one of those "we don't owe anyone anything" claims. Why pay for someone else's kids to go to school? This claim is regularly made by people who seem completely unaware that every aspect of their lives is safer, more effective, more enjoyable, more convenient, more accessible, *because* we've invested (however unevenly) in everyone's kids. That's why we have millions of people who can figure out safe building codes, best ways to clean water, great movies and the technology that makes them possible, cars that don't explode, cancer treatments that have slashed mortality rates, clothes we didn't have to weave ourselves, etc. etc. etc. The self-sufficiency of the rich is not just a lie; it's a delusion.
By my count, this is the third attempt to pass vouchers in MS in three years. Each time it has failed because republicans representing rural districts rightly recognize that their schools will see all the financial losses but that there will be few to no private options for their kids. They joined with democrats and stopped the bills. Let’s hope they continue this pattern or that Mississippi miracle might be in danger.