School choices: Obama makes one you can't

Strangely enough, even Barack Obama is a victim of the government education monopoly he is working to protect.



He is forced to spend ~$38k to get a decent education for his children because the alternative is so horrible that the University of Chicago Laboratory school can charge that much.



It is foolish to believe that we need to spend anywhere near $20k to provide a quality education. The market is skewed because the monopoly schools (many of which spend almost the same amount of money) have no incentive to raise quality or lower costs.



With parental choice, the incentive would exist. Quality would climb and costs would fall. In such a free parent-controlled market, expensive failing schools (like CPS) would go out of business, replaced by low cost high quality schools, public and private.



As a result, Senator Obama could send his kids to the same school for a lot less, since the alternatives would be better and less expensive.

Jim Peschke

The following article appeared in the Union Leader.

School choices: Obama makes one you can't


With her daughters by her side, Michelle Obama told the world Monday night that "their future -- and all our children's future -- is my stake in this election."

It sure is. And what does that future look like for the Obama girls? Whether their father wins or loses, it is bright. Little Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10, attend the elite University of Chicago Laboratory School. Tuition for grades 1 to 4 is $18,492. For grades 5 to 8, it is $20,286. As National Review's Jim Geraghty has pointed out, that's $38,778 a year that Obama is willing to pay so his two daughters don't have to attend Chicago's public schools.

What about your own children? Obama opposes school choice programs that would empower low-income parents to send their children to private schools if their own public schools are failing. It's private school for his daughters, but no help for you if your kids are stuck in a public school that doesn't work for them.


John McCain believes that no American child should be forced to attend a school that is broken or that doesn't fit his or her educational needs. He supports school choice plans that would free American parents to make the best educational decisions for their children.

So, yes, our children's future is at stake in this election. One candidate wants to level the playing field and give all children the same opportunities Barack Obama's daughters have. Sadly, that candidate is not Barack Obama.