Economics 101: School Choice Example Shows Why Government Monopolies Are Bad
Competition promotes innovation and results in higher quality and lower costs. Government-run schools are a tragic example, by contrast, of why monopolies generate bad results. This video uses the example of school choice to explain why competition is a better approach. www.freedomandprosperity.org
Duration : 0:4:58
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Why don’t you have …
Why don’t you have enough money to be able to afford private schools? Oh you say the gov’t and IRS takes away 1/3 of your paycheck in taxes, well there you go. Of course an average person cannot afford to send there kid and a neighbor’s kid to a public school and expect to have enough money to afford private school.
@Utubekookdetector: …
@Utubekookdetector:
Awesome name!
@Runrome:
You …
@Runrome:
You might be under the impression that public schools are free or somehow cheaper. Bad assumption. Many people forget that much of public school’s apparent cheapness comes from subsidies–so it costs just as much, just not on face value. It actually ends up costing more.
Well I have used …
Well I have used all 3,and i can say for a fact the usps sucks they are terrible. Imuch wrather use Fedex,or Ups.
Lmao, Do you realy …
Lmao, Do you realy belive that? One goverment run schools cost much more,and they are keeping the education down. If you hadmore compation in education the freemarket schools would go down in price.
She’s smart. I …
She’s smart. I would tap that.
At least a …
At least a government education makes sure that everyone gets the same access to education. Families cant afford provide schools because the individual schools charge too much money to keep people at the bottom
6 billion dollars ( …
6 billion dollars (I am assuming the post office needs 6 billion a year to keep going) That is roughly 43 dollars a year per US tax payer (not citizen) and that is pretty reasonable. Of all the gross government spending and you’re going to pick a fight with USPS.
This is established to promote freedom of speech and to be somewhat of an organized, modern, civilized society. 911 uses your address to know where to send help.
When you ship …
When you ship something to UPS or Fed ex they have limited drop off locations and the shipping information is entered electronically.
USPS enables you to use a simple envelope,pen, and stamp and you can mail your letter on your own schedule from many more convenient locations 24/7. Reading handwritten addresses is an enormous and costly problem. Not to mention UPS and Fed Ex leverage the addressing system developed and maintained by USPS.
@drichter87,
Tell …
@drichter87,
Tell me an example wherein a monopoly can be a good thing.
And the reason why the video appears biased towards free markets is because it purports that as a solution. If you heard two people arguing over the answer to 2+2 and one of them said 4, coming back at that person claiming that the other ‘obviously has a clear bias to 4 as the right answer’ would not make any sense. You seem to be doing something analogous here.
DR: Have any …
DR: Have any FEDERAL gov’t monopolies been efficient? The USPS, Fannie/Freddie, The depts. of Energy, Education are all failures.
You statement “economics is all about properly distributed limited resources” sounds eerily similar to some kind of collectivist philosophy.
….So in a …
….So in a nutshell, be careful with the information you are receiving. This video obviously has a political bias toward smaller government and pure capitalism. The problem with this video is that it does not acknowledge instances when monopoly can be a good thing. It is not ideal, but economics is all about properly distributing limited resources in the presence of unlimited wants and desires. Sometime monopoly gets the job done. And yes, I graduated with a degree in Business Economics.
Although I do …
Although I do believe in the privatization of the school system, the main point of this video is flawed. Yes, Perfect Competition does result in the optimal allocation of resources and maximum efficiency. However, to simply say that that “Monopoly is BAD” would be incorrect. Monopolies can beneficial in cases where initial fixed costs are extremely high and variable costs are relatively low. These include but are not limited to Utility services, Mail service, and Waste Management.
2:00 Association …
2:00 Association does not imply causality. In my opinion, it’s most likely because there are more students(or parents) who don’t care about education in public than in private schools. If you didn’t care about your or your children’s education, why choose private schools?
I understand why …
I understand why you ask these questions, yet overall, you are missing the underlying reality. Not all American children are privileged enough to stay at-home for schooling. Some students, in fact, do not have the privilege of living in one home for more than two months at a time.
Do you have experience teaching or mentoring children living in poor, urban areas? Based on the questions you are proposing, it seems you are unaware of your subconscious biases.
Forgive my poor …
Forgive my poor typing, I meant “as an”, not “as and”.
Maybe $9,000- …
Maybe $9,000-$14,000 is necessary for an excellent education in a government school. If that is the level of efficiency at which they operate, then that sum is necessary.
How much does the average home schooling family spend per student per year? How many hours a day of that one-on-one education is necessary to achieve what you describe as and “ELA standard” meeting education?
Hey, Is Holiday …
Hey, Is Holiday Dmitri still your PR person? Because she is a crack whore. Seriously, I’m not kidding. One month, during a dull period in her whoring, she stole my credit card when she was my room mate at Northwestern. Keep it classy CATO.
that my school, and …
that my school, and most other schools in the area, have numerous support services, including (but not limited to) special education services, counseling services, and academic intervention services.
Lastly, an honest question. Have you taught full-time in an urban public school?
2) I would agree …
2) I would agree that $14,000 per student is unnecessary. The average among the rest of the states is under $9,000 per student. I would also argue that this area is where economics becomes a valuable starting point for the discussion regarding why the costs are so high. Yet, I can only speak about my school, which allocates a significant portion of its budget to after-school programs that allow students to learn until 5:30. While I think you’re correct to point this out, you should know
Responses to your …
Responses to your questions:
1) I’m not sure about the results regarding home schooled students. However, I would hope that the majority of them (being that they are privileged enough to have daily, one-on-one instruction from a loving, English-speaking, parent/guardian) meet NY State ELA standards. I am simply proud of my students who, without the same privileges, also meet or exceed state standards. Which situation, using your economic analysis, is more challenging?
The USPS does …
The USPS does indeed have a government-protected monopoly. Furthermore, even their competitive services are protected by the legislation surrounding the department.
Insofar as the military, the Civilian Militia are far more numerous than the government’s standing forces (we number 80 million, they haven’t even 300,00 standing troops). We are clearly “monopolizing” that field.
We can be very ” …
We can be very “nuanced” in our economic analysis, if I’m understanding your use of the term correctly.
In that vein, I have two questions:
How do home schooled students place compared to yours on similar exams? (Your state requires, as I understand, that home school students take placement exams to ensure they meet whatever standards the whims of the state deem appropriate.)
Is it true that your school district spends over $14,000 per student, per year to achieve the success you report?
Yet, as I’m sure …
Yet, as I’m sure you realize, this does not necessarily mean that my school provided our students with a higher quality education. Quantifying the phrase, “a higher quality education,” is complex (i.e. cannot be generalized).
So, before you assume that such a broad sweeping argument is valid (such as, non-government funded schools, on average, outperform government-run schools), I would look at the issue in a nuanced manner.
First, if you …
First, if you propose that studies are skewed (which I would agree, some are), how can you estimate that “on average” non-government funded schools outperform government-funded schools? Is it purely based on economic theory?
Second, I am not sure you are looking at this debate in a nuanced way. For example, I teach at a public (government-funded) middle school in the South Bronx (NYC) that outperformed several NYC charter (privately-funded) middle schools on the ELA state exam.