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Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz Counties, CA June 8, 2010 Election
Smart Voter

Fixing the Education System

By Mary V. Larkin

Candidate for United States Representative; District 17; Libertarian Party

This information is provided by the candidate
Here's one example of how the Free Market works well. Competition and freedom are good for all of us. You can apply the analogy I use to many of our country's problems and see how privatization could fix the problem. Why do you trust the government more than a private company? Government is the only true monopoly and they don't have to answer to anyone. We don't want anarchy, just freedom.
I support vouchers for school districts that have poor schools; maybe all school districts. If you believe that every child should have access to a good education, regardless of race or economic status, then you should be supporting school vouchers. It is the only way to make it happen. The "designated" money that is spent on an education should "belong" to the child, not the school district. This gives each family the ability to send their child to the school of their choice. That way if a school is terrible, and many are, that child can take their money to a different school that is performing well. That's how the market works and it lowers costs and improves the product and service to the buyer.

If you live in town and the closest restaurant is absolutely terrible do you keep going? No, you don't. Next time you go to a good restaurant that is a little farther away but doesn't have a waitress that glares at you while charging too much for a really bad meal. The good restaurant thrives and is able to open another restaurant closer to you where the bad restaurant used to be. Unfortunately (not really), everyone stopped going to the bad one because it was, well, so bad. So it had to close. That is how it is supposed to work!

How would you feel if the government raised your taxes to subsidize the really bad restaurant so it wouldn't go out of business? Wouldn't you be angry?! Why should you pay for something you wouldn't use because they can't do their job? This is what many people are forced to do now. We either keep our kids in the failing schools because we don't have a choice or we spend additional dollars to send them to private school. Many of us cannot afford that and why should we have to? Expect something for your dollar! Demand school vouchers and school choice, for your children's sake and the future of this country.

In order for schools to succeed they also need freedom from federal and union interference. Let teachers, school administrators and communities decide how to run their schools so they are the most effective.

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ca/state Created from information supplied by the candidate: May 15, 2010 14:39
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