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Opinion #1
Debater: Matt S.
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It can be, but here's the rub
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The argument over vouchers isn't over whether there will be enough education to meet the demand. Most people are not afraid of rampant truancy because the schools have disappeared and the students are running amok.
They are afraid that the current public institutions are failing to meet quality standards (which some are, and some aren't.)
The question of vouchers is whether or not a low-income family has the right to purchase a better education for their child that they normally could not afford. It, in a sense, creates demand for private education. Well, the demand is there, but capability to act on the demand is not.
The question of vouchers is more about equal quality education then it is about quantity of education. The government has funded public education for quite some time. Once enough private educational facilities exist, I would expect privatization of schools. Until that time, vouchers give students options.
Whether vouchers are used right, is another matter.
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Opinion #2
Debater: The Wild Goose
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Vouchers destroy effective private education.
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Vouchers do not "create demand" for education. If anything, they destroy that demand. First of all, government money never comes without strings attached. "Private" schools taking government voucher money must accept a long list of conditions, most of which effectively render private schools no better than public schools. In many states, private schools must accept students who apply without regard to academic success, religion, family, or even prior criminal activity. Secondly, vouchers are available only for students in public schools who "want out". This may encourage families struggling to make ends meet so their children can go to private school to actually remove their children from private school, just so they can become eligible for vouchers. Finally, by making more students eligible for private schools while simultaneously removing the rigorous standards they use to select students, vouchers make it harder on genuinely hardworking students and families.
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Supporting URL[s]:
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http://www.mises.org
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http://www.mises.org
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