The debate over the existence of public schools

[KamaAina]

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-debate-over-the-existence-public-schools

For many years, the mainstream political debate about the minimum wage was between those who wanted to increase the legal floor and those who wanted to leave it alone. But as Republican politics moved sharply to the right, a third contingent took shape: GOP policymakers who said the minimum wage simply shouldn’t exist.

This dynamic comes up quite a bit. We used to debate about how best to shape the Medicare program; now we debate whether to eliminate Medicare and transition seniors to a coupon system in the private market. We used to debate how to strengthen Social Security; now we debate whether to privatize Social Security out of existence.

And while we used to debate the best way to help America’s system of public schools, we occasionally hear from conservatives who believe it’s time to scrap the very idea of public education altogether....

The Fox host said, “There really shouldn’t be public schools, should there? I mean we should really go to a system where parents of every stripe have a choice, have a say in the kind of education their kids get because, when we have centralized, bureaucratic education doctrines and dogmas like this, that’s exactly what happens.”

What's next? The debate over the existence of the post office? Oh, right...

[Brigid]

1. Is there any civilized country . . .

Where there is serious debate about whether or not it should have a public school system?

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Our country is so fractured, you can't even imagine.

I suppose it's easier to collude against your neighbor when you feel like you have absolutely nothing in common with them. When you don't go to the same schools, churches or organizations, it's just that much easier to overlook you.

There's a huge agenda behind destroying public infra-structure. When are we going to put a stop to it?