LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: END THE SCHOOL MONOPOLY

To the Editor:

Question: How does a monopoly keep its cost under control? Answer: It doesn't have to.

This is true whether the monopoly is regulated by government or not. The cost of government is paid by taxpayers and the monopoly passes its cost to the consumer, who is also the taxpayer. This is true regardless of the business.

Innovative changes are not usually undertaken because there is no meaningful competition driving the change. If monopolies make changes, the cost is passed on to the consumer at a premium. History is replete with examples of this phenomenon. We are most familiar with the story of AT&T. Before competition there was the rotary phone, black or white, and it cost over $100. There was one residential rate and one business rate. Since the break-up we can get a free touch-tone phone with a subscription to a magazine. We have a choice in billing plans based on our needs. Free market competition spawned these cost saving innovations. Does any thinking human being still believe a business would undertake these changes without free market competition? Other examples of competition forcing innovation and savings to consumers that readily come to mind include IBM, Honda, Walmart, Southwest Airlines, Discount Brokers and the list goes on and on.

With history clearly reflecting the absolute success of free market competition as the only effective regulator of price and quality, why does the public accept the notion that government regulated monopolies are efficient or innovative? Perhaps we do not recognize the ones that still exist or the ones that are yet to be created.

State-run health alliances may well turn out to be the very monopoly that breeds the most harm on the American population. We, however, have existing monopolies that are costing us dearly. The list includes cable television and public education. Ask yourselves if regulation has kept prices low in either. Has innovation come cheaply or at all in public education? Does government regulation inspire cost effective change? The answers I come up with is a resounding no!

We can change this situation if we apply a minimal amount of logic. The only way the monopoly we call "public education" can be truly reformed is by educating the public. Simply put, the best way to improve public education is to give parents the economic freedom to choose the school that will educate their child. To do this we must make the destination of tax dollars a function of parental choice, not government bureaucrats.

School choice can become a reality in a number of different ways. One is a voucher system. Another way to insure competition would be to allow a tax credit for parents who pay their child's tuition. If anyone is interested in more information about School Choice in Missouri, they can write: MOCAPE, 1911 Merlin Drive, Jefferson City, Mo. 65101. They can also write their state representative or state senator.

If we are to build a system that works, be it health care or education, we must adhere to principles that are tried and true. We cannot predict the future but we can identify the principles that best allow future progress. Free market capitalism with minimal government safeguards, has worked every time it's been tried. The current education system lacks the political and economic freedom needed to weed out inferior schools. As a result children are held prisoner to a bureaucracy gone amuck.

Who opposes a level playing field in education? Al Shanker recently said, "I don't represent the kids. I represent the teachers. When the children start paying union dues I will represent them." Mr. Shanker is the president of the American Federation of Teachers and opposed an amendment to H.R. 1804 that would have given school districts a choice option. With the status quo so deeply entrenched, change will not come easily; this is in spite of the fact that recent polls show 65 percent of the people favor choice in education.

Prior to the latest attempt to pass a 51-cent tax increase, superintendent Neyland Clark expressed pride they did not have to share the ballot with another issue. This is a perilous position to take in a district where 25.3 percent of students K-8 attend non-public schools. The basic laws of human nature and economics are not mere suggestions. We ignore them at our own peril.

Ken Schaefer

Cape Girardeau