The Father of Freedom

The father of modern free-market thinking, Milton Friedman, graced the Wall Street Journal with his pen yesterday to describe the course of the school choice movement over the past fifty years. The idea was his initially, and he and his wife remain involved in the push to introduce market mechanisms in education. He concludes:

The good news is that, despite these setbacks, public interest in and support for vouchers and tax credits continues to grow. Legislative proposals to channel government funds directly to students rather than to schools are under consideration in something like 20 states. Sooner or later there will be a breakthrough; we shall get a universal voucher plan in one or more states. When we do, a competitive private educational market serving parents who are free to choose the school they believe best for each child will demonstrate how it can revolutionize schooling.

Of course, not everyone agrees with Dr. Friedman. I was genuinely surprised at the unified opposition to school choice among liberals on the Watchblog when I posted there on this topic earlier in the week. Apparently, the idea that parental choice is a worthy goal is not a matter of consensus. Just one more reason to vote Republican.