Debating health care and education
Last night, President Barack Obama made an interesting analogy in his address to Congress on health care. He suggested that those without insurance be able to get it through a not-for-profit public option that would be available through an insurance exchange.
The idea, he said, is similar to the system we have in this country for public and private education. "It would also keep pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable and treat their customers better, the same way public colleges and universities provide additional choice and competition to students without in any way inhibiting a vibrant system of private colleges and universities," the president said.
Does this analogy work? Is there competition between private and public colleges and universities and public and parochial or private schools? Are educational standards raised by that competition?
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Comments
The problem that I see with the analogy is that there is no standard for education in the same way the President's health care proposal said there would be for medical insurance. For example the president said that there could be no rate hike or rejection of coverage for preexisting conditions, while private and parochial schools have no problem saying we don't take autistic kids (as an example).
On the other hand, I believe that his point was that public and private colleges and universities can co-exist and each carves out it's own niche. Successful schools define their niche and provide value to those that it serves. In that way it's a good analogy.
Posted by: a parent | September 10, 2009 12:58 PM
Dear Sun Reporters,
I think it is time that you did a report on the status of the education stimulus dollars. I am still waiting to see how any of that money has been used to bring my child's classroom into the 21st century. The president said in his much maligned address to children that he is going to get the tools of the 21st century to children to prepare them. I think it would be interesting to for him to know that his plan is not working and that the school systems are squandering this opportunity. Let the money flow... give my kids the tools that they need... I would have hoped that Baltimore County Schools would have acted more quickly. There are deadlines coming and they could lose there money and that would be devastating for kids and the economy.
Posted by: A Tax Payer | September 11, 2009 1:08 PM