I enjoyed reading Scott’s thoughts on Funding School Choice. (The series that lead to his post can be found at the National Review Online – parts 1, 2, 3, 4) I am wondering if we have much to gain right now by discussing a new funding option for school choice. I would like to have seen this discussed earlier, or it might be good to open discussions again after the November vote.
The idea of tax credits to fund parental choice in education seems to have some positive attributes – like not having the money go to the government and then get redistributed. On the other hand, as Scott notes, this does not help those who pay little in taxes which is where vouchers have more merit. I would love to hear some perspective from other people (especially from some voucher opponents) on the relative merits of tax credits for education.
I think tax credits could provide a supplemental method of funding school choice. Perhaps some type of tax credit program could be implemented down the road a couple of years. I like the idea of creating a self-sustaining system that works completely outside of government. Of course, if vouchers fail in November, tax credits would probably be the next best way to go.
It seems to me that if vouchers fail in November it would not bode well for tax credits. The accusation has been that vouchers favor the rich and it seems that argument would be even easier to make against tax credits. I’m just not optimistic about passing tax credits if we can’t get vouchers to pass in November.
Am I missing something?