Private enterprises get good through competition with other private enterprises. They get good or people vote with their feet…and they go out of business. Without competition, i.e., the free market, there is no incentive to improve or even keep existing standards high. You get what you get. And 'forced to pay tuition'…they're paying tuition now, in the form of taxes that go to public education. Competition would lower the tuition, making many schools more affordable (see my comment above). It's not one size fits all. Do you shop for food at a grocery store? If the government ran 'food distribution' and food was now 'free'…you'd see people hungry, grumbling, unhappy with the quality. Hmmm…just like they are now over public education.

Funny how government running what should be in the private market tends to do that.

The mere fact that basic Capitalism and free market principles has to be explained like this is further proof of the abject FAILURE of our public education system.

Just an idea.

I wish I had an answer. We're working nearly blind here. But I do know that no matter how true the underlying logic may be, we have to find a better way of getting out the message about affirmative action and welfare. By being so virulent about it, we have come off as attacking the people who are being harmed by it on both sides. I know I'd be ticked off if some hoity-toity white guy came into my community and told me that I was only surviving because of affirmative action and welfare. I can do that with poverty-pimp white people, but it would be rude and counter-productive for me to talk that way to a black family that is truly looking for a way out.

The left constantly talks about "empowering people," when they really mean "enslaving them by other means." We need to find a way to get out the message that "empowerment" begins with the family, the schools and the churches, not with government programs. I can be sure of one thing–there are millions of black success stories out there, and they need to be told. Having someone like me talk about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps is just not believable to a black kid in second or third generation poverty and desperation. I'm willing to bet tnwoman is one of those people who could do exactly that. And it doesn't have to be about "how I made my first million," either. Just a simple story of "how I worked my way out of poverty with the help of my family and good friends, and now have a happy home and a good life without waiting for the social worker to tell me what to do next" would be extremely effective. Taking help from a government program is not a sin, but building your life around it is crippling.

So, where do wy go from here?

I'm somewhat familiar with Irvine–pre-university. It was beautiful country, and I hear it's still very nice. We had a summer home in Laguna Beach, so I'm familiar with the old Orange County. I know it has changed considerably, not all for the good.

We do, however, have the Angels and Ducks.