Milton Friedman was Right about US Public Education

Bringing Back Competition and Family Autonomy

The US education system is in shambles, as standards are declining and the government has been pushing back against successful alternatives in the private market.

If the government could fix the US education system, they would have done it decades ago. What we really need is to return to free market principles and challenge the status quo of public schools through increased competition. So far, public schools have not been incentivized to improve, since they receive funds through US taxpayers’ property taxes, regardless of performance.
Milton Friedman provided some revolutionary insights during his time, and sadly US public schools have decided to ignore all of this advice. Friedman came up with the concept of a voucher system, which would increase the standards of schools through free market competition. This system would also allow US taxpayers to have a say in how their taxes are used for education purposes.

The new executive branch will fight to increase the rights of parents and children in the United States and help introduce some of the breaking economic ideas that Milton Friedman developed during his lifetime. American education is broken, but it can easily be reconciled.

Down with Public Schools

Monopolies are always bad for consumers. Education shouldn’t be treated differently.

As standards in the US education system continue to deteriorate, very few people have ventured to look for the simple economic cause. A lack of competition would cause any company to fail, and public schools are also no exception to this principle.

The X account Rabbit Hole recently shared a Milton Friedman interview, in which he noted how public schools should be forced to compete with private schools.

Milton Friedman came up with many stellar economic ideas, and thankfully recent voices with power have been reminding the world of some of Friedman’s wisdom.

“Public schools should not be in a monopoly position. They should have to compete with private schools. Why should a parent be restricted to using his tax money simply in those schools that are run by the government?”

The government hates competition. Public schools have their own special shield of protection from the teachers’ unions, which have been fighting back against the competition from private schools. This corrupt model prevents public schools from reaching their potential and it also harms students.

Parents deserve more autonomy and dignity in this process. Public schools are funded by US citizens’ property taxes. These parents have no say in the matter, and should at the very least know that the public schools they fund are being held to higher standards.

Letting Parents Choose

Milton previously pioneered the concept of parents receiving a set sum of money that they could use for their school of choice. Under the current model, parents are forced to fund education through their property taxes, even if they home-school or choose a private school.

This model produces the greatest level of freedom for parents. Parents who want to send their kids to private schools can receive this money for tuition, instead of funding the public school their kids will not attend. Lower-income families who want to send their kids to a Christian school can do so without having to worry about the financial consequences. Public schools could still play a role in this system.

In this environment, public schools would have to deliver value to attract parents’ attention. This healthy dose of competition could help boost standards, ensuring that even low-income students who attend public schools have access to a higher-quality education.

These Options are Superior

While many people may be skeptical about the results of nontraditional schooling methods, the results are crystal clear. Students who are homeschooled or attend other types of private schools perform better in multiple academic areas. Free market competition could help all of these schools continue to shine.

The charter school model has been an extreme success, as many students have been able to outpace their public school peers.

Public school unions, which claim to care about equity and inclusion, have been strongly opposing charter schools despite their solid track record. These unions have done everything they can to slander charter schools, simply because they fear competition.

Private schools have consistently demonstrated that they are a superior option. Students who attend these schools score higher on subjects like reading and math and are consequently in better shape to enter university.

Many parents have chosen homeschooling as a superior alternative to escape the toxic DEI ideology and provide higher standards for their children. It should come as no surprise that homeschooled children perform much better in multiple areas.

Sadly, parents who want to homeschool are at the mercy of state laws and have to overcome many unsubstantiated objections from other people who have misplaced criticisms about the benefits of homeschooling.

Academic standards in the United States are clearly on a decline, and teachers unions and other education institutions should be searching for innovative solutions. Increased competition could also help to elevate standards.

This is no time to preserve the status quo in American education.

New Changes Coming

The US education system is in dire need of multiple changes. Removing DEI and other toxic practices from the school system is an excellent start. However, the root cause of the issues in the US education system is related to the lack of competition and free market solutions.

Some of Trump’s new executive orders mirror some of Milton’s ideas on education. These new orders would allow parents to receive a set amount of money to use toward the school of their choice. This addresses the issue that many parents face when they pay for public schools through their taxes, and then also have to spend more money to send their kids to a private school.

Now more than ever, parents need more options for their kids. Standards are declining, and toxic concepts like DEI and antisemitism have been running free in many schools. It is no wonder that many younger Americans think the Holocaust is a myth.

Milton Friedman was right about a lot of things. If you take a look at his economic concepts, it is clear that DOGE’s new government waste removal efforts were inspired by Milton Friedman’s ideas. Similarly, Milton Friedman had a lot of excellent ideas about how to reform US public education, and we may finally begin to see the fruit of these ideas this decade.