Sunday, April 10, 2011

Politico's Winners and Losers of Shutdown Deal

Politico has an article of which they assess the winners and losers of Friday night's last minute deal to avoid the federal shutdown.  Winners include Speaker Boehner and Planned Parenthood.  The losers include Nancy Pelosi and The District. 

They point to the lack of federal funds being used for abortion and the voucher program as the reason why DC has lost.  The most obvious thing one can say about the abortion issue is this is just further proof that federal money isn't used for the funding of abortion is an outright lie.  But when it is convenient the left will trot out this mantra yet again. Now the district is very left leaning so it is likely that the majority of the residents are pro choice.  This being a classified as a loss for The District is understandable from that point of view. 

What I don't understand is why the voucher program is considered a loss.  The expert that congress hired to look at the program without an political agenda has concluded that the program was successful.  It is brought down the shamefully high number of high school drop outs in DC.  The voucher program is less expensive than the DC public school system and generates a higher rate of graduations and a higher level of college acceptance.  How is that a loser?  We are spending less money to get better results.  In no way does this program take money away from the public school system.  The program actually gives twice as money to the public/charter schools than it does to the vouchers.  If a parent wants their child to continue in the current public school they are in they have the right to do it.  But for the parents who realize that their child is in a school that is failing them or in a dangerous neighborhood they have the choice to put them in a better school.  An education is the key to lifting the poor out of poverty. 

Here is a commenter on the Politico article:


Why do the right hate education so much?
OK, my first question to this person would be did you go to the DC public schools?  My second would be why do you keep insisting that voucher program isn't designed to help the poor?  The only people who can rationally believe that this program is a loser is someone who is so blinded by the liberal left orthodoxy of how unions are the answer to improving our educational system.  Even when the facts bear out that this program is a winner. 

Not only will these children get a chance at a better education and are more likely to graduate and go onto college.  They will help lift themselves and their families out of poverty that will reduce their dependency on the government dole.  Yes, that sounds like a loser to me. 

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