I respect that position, but I'm still in favor of vouchers as a first step towards ending government schooling. Plus, many of the states rolling out vouchers seem likely to continue moving in the direction of parental autonomy.
this territory is moderated
Going the refund route wouldn't guarantee freedom from state interference but I do not like the idea of not pushing for a more hard core approach.
I mean, I think it would great if the federal department of education was disbanded. This is something many people trying to freak people out are saying Trump is gonna do. I have no idea if he's even said that, but even if he did its seems very unlikely to me.
If it happens though, it might be one of the most bullish things I've seen in a long time. I don't think people really understand how critical government education is to continuing the status quo of programming the population.
reply
I think refunds will be the next step after vouchers. If some state wanted to jump straight into it, though, I'd be all for it.
reply
I hope so. I think a lot of people just haven't thought about it. I used to be for vouchers until I heard this argument.
It reminds me of how California "legalized" pot. What it did was create a regulatory framework for spying on people. The amount of regulation on that industry is absolutely Orwellian. Its absolutely absurd. And people celebrate it like it was some massive win.
Its why there is still a massive black market for pot. Anyone what wants privacy has to continue to be a criminal.
reply
On pot legalization, the most interesting state was Alaska, because it was already fully decriminalized there. When the state legalized it, there were a bunch of new taxes and regulations, but not much expansion of freedom.
reply
Its a good thing to think about in the context of Bitcoin and "regulatory clarity".
Government approval is a double edged sword.
I always loved the way Ron Paul would put it. What business is it of the government what I put into my own body? A very conservative Christian man that probably never used pot in his life.
reply
Wouldn’t vouchers negate refunds? You can have one or the other but not both. Politically both are difficult but refunds seem like a nonstarter. The state legislature giving money back?
reply
The terminology here is going to be unfortunately confusing.
I think of vouchers as essentially being refundable tax credits; meaning you get them whether or not you paid the amount in taxes to cover the credit.
Refunds would just be reforming these into non-refundable tax credits, which would only pay out up to the amount of taxes owed.
The political sell would be that it actually costs less. The hurdle is that it is highly regressive.
reply
Thanks for explaining
I was using poor terminology, please accept my apology
reply
No, you weren't. It's just that what we were calling "refunds" are most like "non-refundable tax credits" and that's a little awkward verbally.
reply