The Gainesville Times editorial

I like the Gainesville Times. The bungling fools that run the Times give me about half of my blog material.

Today, the Editorial Staff came out in favor of school vouchers. Ho hum.

But, they did have a nice twist on the idea. Check out the brain dead:

"The voucher plan, if passed, wouldn't be a cure-all. For one thing, $5,000 wouldn't be enough for tuition to most private schools, which may not have enough space to handle an influx of new students (though the free market would take care of that over time)."

Nevermind that Alan Greenspan said that the current economic crisis and its causes have destroyed the foundations of market thinking; giving away government money has nothing to do with the mythical free market.

Look at the basics of the idea. The State government, which is an estimated $2 billion dollars in the RED for THIS year, is going to give away $5,000 per student for parents to withdraw from public schools. And, eventually someone will build enough good private schools that public education will either get better or just go away.

Why don't we call it just another bailout for private CEOs? If our state government is going to spend money in the private sector, it is a bailout. If that money props up a new industry with wealthy CEO's, how do we know as taxpayers that the CEOs won't buy private jets, take skiing trips to Aspen, and give out huge bonus money? Not to mention 'donations' to politicians to keep the subsidies coming.

Let the private schools earn their keep before giving them taxpayer dollars and free loans.