Indiana

Make the Right Choice

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

Although I am no fan of township government, I’ve been thinking lately about one way they could stay relevant.

Take poor relief and turn it into school vouchers.

If you think about it, the whole purpose of poor relief is to help people in need and one way to help people in need is to make sure they are self-sufficient.  And what better way to make people self-sufficient is to make sure they have a good education.  And what way to guarantee a good education than to ensure choice?

Remember, poor relief isn’t just cash or food.  It can also come in the form of clothes and in some cases school supplies.  There is already a precedent for vouchers.  When late Congresswoman Julia Carson was a township trustee, she would give vouchers for people to buy clothes.

We can circumvent the church/state issue by making sure the money is spent on “education expenses” and school tuition would qualify as an educational expense?

Now of course there would be an issue of crowd control.  That’s why only the people who qualify for poor relief would be eligible for the voucher.  

 Competition is already here, so why not have the trustees get into the act? 

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on November 20, 2008 (boomark / email).