Courier Journal vs. The Bluegrass Institute
After reading the C-J's front page quasi-news article (which belongs on the political assassination page) about The Bluegrass Institute, what's glaringly obvious is the fear both the C-J and government institutions have for the libertarian ideas advanced by them. This makes sense given the monopoly positions enjoyed by both the CJ and government run entities like public schools. The free market is a powerful force when left unchecked -- look at the dwindling number of pages published by the CJ each day. People are voting with their wallets for a better news & entertainment delivery system.
Similarly, I'm sure bureaucrats managing the public school system are equally concerned about being voted out of a job. So rather than debate those with a fresh view as how to better public education, they've chosen to ignore and/or ridicule them. The recently departed Nobel laureate Milton Friedman advanced the same libertarian ideas as The Bluegrass Institute regarding school choice. Would such distinguished scholars as Brent McKim of the JCTA and Lisa Gross in the Ky. Dept. of Education be equally dismissive of him?
Union bosses and government bureaucrats try to mire the school choice debate in facts, figures, and statistics hoping to confuse the public into a state of paralysis. The matter is far more simple -- do we accept the fundamental truth that competition brings about the best in us all, or do we believe that certain persons (such as unionized teachers) and institutions (government schools) should be protected?
No doubt the initial effect on public policy produced by greatest economic treatise ever penned, The Wealth of Nations was limited too. Yet 200 years after publication, Adam Smith's libertarian ideas have delivered unimaginable riches and health to the entire western world. The C-J should congratulate, not condemn the tenacious efforts of those at The Bluegrass Institute for seeking to educate us in ways our government schools cannot.
George Dick
Chairman Libertarian Party of Kentucky
Similarly, I'm sure bureaucrats managing the public school system are equally concerned about being voted out of a job. So rather than debate those with a fresh view as how to better public education, they've chosen to ignore and/or ridicule them. The recently departed Nobel laureate Milton Friedman advanced the same libertarian ideas as The Bluegrass Institute regarding school choice. Would such distinguished scholars as Brent McKim of the JCTA and Lisa Gross in the Ky. Dept. of Education be equally dismissive of him?
Union bosses and government bureaucrats try to mire the school choice debate in facts, figures, and statistics hoping to confuse the public into a state of paralysis. The matter is far more simple -- do we accept the fundamental truth that competition brings about the best in us all, or do we believe that certain persons (such as unionized teachers) and institutions (government schools) should be protected?
No doubt the initial effect on public policy produced by greatest economic treatise ever penned, The Wealth of Nations was limited too. Yet 200 years after publication, Adam Smith's libertarian ideas have delivered unimaginable riches and health to the entire western world. The C-J should congratulate, not condemn the tenacious efforts of those at The Bluegrass Institute for seeking to educate us in ways our government schools cannot.
George Dick
Chairman Libertarian Party of Kentucky
posted by George Conrad Dick at 7:00 AM
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