Your Contributions Make Free Republic Possible!
Please Keep 'Em Coming In!
Thank You ALL Very Much!
Posted on 02/10/2013 7:57:27 AM PST by Kaslin
On Thursday, the Center for American Progress released a grand plan to provide pre-school for the Obama Administration. I’ll pause for a moment while you make the requisite jokes about the missing Obama pre-school transcripts. The plan outlines how the administration can provide free pre-school. According to an article by Phillip Elliott at CNS News, subsidies for families with younger children would increase to an average of $7200 per child and the number of students in early Head Start Programs would double.
The article states: “Under the center's plan, Washington would match states' spending on these preschool programs for 3- or 4-year-olds at an average rate of $10,000 per child — enough to cover full-day programs. The program would be phased in over five years, starting first with low-income students who, studies show, benefit the most from pre-kindergarten programs. Children ages 3 and 4 would be eligible to attend preschool for free if they come from a family of four earning $46,100 or less. For families making more than that, the rates would be adjusted based on income.”
Sounds terrific, doesn’t it? Who could possibly object to helping poor children receive an early education? Only the most heinous, most vicious one percenter would deny children such things as free pre-school and Head Start, right?
The benefits of early childhood education are boundless, and no sane person would argue that. But no sane person would argue that such things should remain under the aegeis of the federal government. That is madness. Why, you ask?
Well, to begin when all of the federal benefits are added up, the effort would cost 119.9 billion dollars over the next 10 years. Last time I checked, the Full Faith and Credit of the United States Government was not sufficient to put a 7-11 taquito on layaway, let alone finance early childhood education for everyone.
And the track record for Head Start is not exactly stellar. In an article from the Heritage Foundation, Lindsey Burke notes that Head Start, at present is running the taxpayers about eight grand per child. Burke observes that after 48 years of operation and 180 billion dollars in tax dollars the program has had a negligible effect on the education of the children it ostensibly serves. A report by Health and Human Services no less, reveals that the program has not delivered on its promises, and has in fact federal studies indicate that the program has had an adverse impact on peer-relations and math abilities. Also worth mentioning is the fact that Head Start is only one of 69 federal preschool programs already being utilized under the auspices of 10 different federal agencies. Those agencies include HHS, USDA, HUD and the GSA. The current cost is $25 billion per annum.
It would be one thing if the money was spent on a program that achieved its objectives. But clearly the government has managed to make early childhood education the scholastic equivalent of Solyndra: a quantum singularity that absorbs money, time and possibly even light and matter, while giving nothing in return.
This new program promises to be yet another hazard on the country’s fiscal event horizon. More non-existent money spent on a program designed to do nothing but guarantee a cadre of federal bureaucrats job security until their pensions kick in.
The parents of these children would be far better served by giving them school vouchers and allowing them the opportunity of choosing where they will send their offspring to learn their ABC’s and the colors of the rainbow. Instead, we are being presented with more paperwork and worse yet another tab for a meal that has yet to be delivered by our federal waiter or waitress. Or waitperson. Server. Or whatever.
That's just silly. We all know negative results don't matter, except as an excuse to spend more.
Wouldn’t it make more sense for the parents just to take their preschool children to storytime at the library? I’m always confused by the “need” for daycare subsidies for a population that doesn’t have jobs.
More expensive liberal brainwashing for kids.
[at an average rate of $10,000 per child]
Last time I checked, Lutheran Schools (when there were still LCMS schools), cost much less than that and produced consistently higher quality product than the government competition.
Got Vouchers?
This is another misguided attempt to offset a problem it created. In Texas, standards for the placement of changing tables right by sinks and other design requirements shut down several home based daycares near me, while mandates for associates’ degrees in childcare shut down a nearby commercial daycare. A registration fees for all childcare, unless it is grandma watching the kids. The city set up “summer camps” at a local park to meet the “demand” for childcare - created by state mandates that drove up the cost of childcare. The city camps don’t have to pay for a private buildings because they use schools and public recreational buildings. Worse for children, but it is $30 / week cheaper than the surrounding daycares.
Now the public schools are offering free and low cost pre-school, competing with surrounding daycares. Because its mandates drove up the cost of commercial childcare and shut down most home based childcare options. It became nearly illegal to be a stay at home parent and watch more than two other children.
There is a serious disconnect in this country if people think government provided "things" are free! On the other hand, I can now see how successful the Left is with their indoctrination centers ("schools").
Churches of all denominations have preschools in my area, and none of them costs anything like $10,000 a year. Even kindergarten at Charlotte Latin wasn’t that much, last time I looked, but it’s close ;-).
First voluntary, then compulsory.
Starting the liberal brainwashing at age 5 is apparently not getting the job done quickly enough. Needs to start a couple of years sooner.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.