From: isbell@ai.mit.edu (Charles L Isbell)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.libertarian
Subject: Re: Questions about the TEN POINT PARTY PROGRAM.
Date: 2 Oct 92 14:44:40 GMT
	<ISBELL.92Sep25211132@panther.ai.mit.edu> <6904@transfer.stratus.com>
Organization: MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
In-reply-to: cdt@sw.stratus.com's message of 30 Sep 92 22:53:01 GMT

cdt@sw.stratus.com (C. D. Tavares) writes:
|Have you been following what has happened in the past two years in
|your own state, under Weld's "school choice" program?  Some of the
|most inefficient public school systems in the state (Hudson, Holliston, 
|and Maynard out my way) are being virtually ABANDONED by townspeople
|sending their children to neighboring schools (Marlboro, Framingham,
|and Acton).  Believe me, these people were just waiting for the
|freedom to leave -- a freedom they never had before, under force of 
|law.  And what about the places these kids wanted to go?  They're
|pleased as punch to get the money for teaching them, and there are
|plenty of places available.

Nope.  I don't get into Mass politics--I hate this place with a deep
passion that boils up from within my very soul.  Any pointers to where
I might read up on this?

How did the "good" schools here deal with the sudden influx of
students?  Did they already have the room or what?  Any pointers
appeciated. 

|Typically, it's a combination of the teachers and the administrations.  
|Why do you think all school communities will necessarily be equally 
|competent?  

I don't.

|The same is clearly not true of, say, the people in the
|public works department that plow the snow -- the difference from town
|to town is strikingly visible.  Why should the schools be any different?  

Never said they should be.  The snow analogy is lost on me as I'm from
Atlanta and the snow up here (I'm told) has been very light the last
two years, try garbage or something next time.

|It's as silly to believe that every town MUST have its own school system 
|as to believe that it must have its own movie theatre or automobile
|dealership.

That depends on the size of the town.  Boston "towns" are ridiculously
small.  Cambridge isn't even two miles across.  In the South on the
other hand, there are often no towns, just cities and vast rural
areas.


|> Honestly, I just don't see what vouchers can do.  It seems to me that
|> the real reform that's necessary can happen either with or without
|> them.
|Vouchers free up the captive customers and eliminate the town monopoly.

I have always understood this.  I'm addressing the question of
whether some customers (namely the ones who suffer most under this
current system) will end up being "captive" anyway.  If that's the
case, what do we do about them?  Nothing?

I understand basic economic theory (I'm not stupid), but I also
understand that the gap between theory and reality is sometimes huge
and unfortunately must be addressed.


--
Peace.
          "Until the lions have their historians,
           tales of the hunted will always glorify the hunter."
                        - African proverb
                                   -\--/-
    Don't just adopt opinions     |  \/  |       Some of you are homeboys
          develop them.           |  /\  | but only I am The Homeboy From hell
                                   -/--\-

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