I propose
- No Child Left Behind should be repealed.
- Move education in Libertarian directions by associating a $5000 a year education tax credit with every child.
- Use foreign visitors to strengthen our education, science, and engineering.
- Strengthen university education and create allies around the world by expanding student visas.
- End wasteful science research boondoggles. Don't let science policy be dictated by particular religious sects.
No Child Left Behind. George Bush is trying to rescue the education of our children, using all the wisdom and compassion he used to rescue New Orleans. The No Child Left Behind Act should be repealed. No Child Left Behind confuses testing with teaching. Its focus on a few academic areas means that others of great importance are ignored. Its focus on national uniformity attacks the cultural richness that is one of the great strengths of our Republic. The Federal government should leave education to states, communities, and parents.
Tax Credits for Education - There is no more important investment in the future than the education of our children and grandchildren. I propose associating with each child a $5000 a year tax credit. That tax credit is tuition for private school, materials for home school, and enrichment for children in public school. Unlike vouchers, a tax credit benefits equally every child. Because it is a credit, not a deduction, every dollar spent this way comes directly from someone's Federal taxes and costs the donor nothing.
My proposed tax credit is associated with the child, not the parents. If it were associated with the parents, only children of rich people would benefit. Because the credit is associated with the child, anyone can invest in America by helping someone else's children to reach toward a brighter future. For private employers, donating to support the education of your employee's children is a wonderful employee benefit that costs you nothing.
By supporting investment in education, we will build a wealthier America that will be more comfortable with other Libertarian proposals. By supporting investment in education, we reduce the money available for Republicans and Democrats to waste on Wars for Nothing and Bridges to Nowhere. By supporting investment in the education of individual children, we build competition in educational approaches that move education in libertarian directions.
The Phillies 2008 Presidential Campaign paid for a scientific poll of 1000 Americans. The results were amazing. 76% of Americans say their children did or will go to public school, while 13% went to private schools and 5% are homeschooled. With the $5000 per year offer, private schooling soared from 13 to 41% of American children, while 7% would be homeschooled.
My plan is especially appealing to young people and minorities. With my plan in place, fully 51% of 18-29-year-olds would send their children to private schools. While only 37% of white parents would send their children to private schools, preference for private schooling climbs to 44% among African-Americans and 59% among other races.
Better Education through Immigration - In a high-tech world, America needs the best talent that money can buy. A half century ago, during what was called the 'brain drain,' Europe's best and brightest moved to America. Our universities benefited enormously from foreign excellence. Now more than ever, America should be open to highly skilled foreign visitors. The H1-B program brings people with extraordinary skills to America. They share those skills with Americans. Quotas that bar H1-B entrants leave those skills abroad, putting Americans at a disadvantage.
The H1-B program is an enormous winner for the American people. Our largest industrial competitor already graduates ten times as many engineers as we do. By bringing the best of the best to America, we ensure that their talents benefit us and our students.
The H1-B program requires visa holders to return to their native lands within six years. Every one of those people will have seen how our way of life brings us unparalleled levels of prosperity and freedom. When they return home, these people become overt agents for the most important Libertarian message: Freedom is the answer. Government of and by the people is the solution.
Better Education Through Student Visas - I support an expansion of student visa programs. Student Visas are a weapon for liberty. They provide opportunities for American students to test themselves against the high educational standards achieved in many foreign lands. Those tests can be a real wake-up call. At many universities, while American students get tuition assistance, foreign students pay full freight, defraying part of the cost of education of Americans.
There is no more powerful way to show people our way of life than to bring them into our country as students. When they go home, foreign students brought to America for undergraduate and advanced degrees become powerful ambassadors for our thinking. In 1991, my own university brought in new Russian graduate students. We took them to the local supermarket. Their jaws would drop. Later they would say 'I saw that, and I knew Russia had lost the cold war'.
Science Policy - The Federal government invests enormous sums in research and development. We develop new weapons, preparing to fight a Soviet Union that no longer exists. Huge amounts go to the manned space station, a boondoggle that contributes very little scientific research. Robot probes like the Cassini-Huygens probe and the Rosetta Orbiter are much more effective. We should end wasteful development and research spending.
To please its supporters, the Bush Republican Party obstructs research on stem cells and global warming. Under a Phillies administration, this obstructionism will end. So long as I am President, science policy will not be dictated by people who think the earth is flat. I may differ with Congress on how much money the Federal government should spend on real science, but I will work vigorously to make sure that your money is spent well.
