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.