Monday August 4

monopoly

A frequent item in the news in California is the budget crisis facing public schools. It is so severe that many towns are having to close schools and shove kids into more crowded classrooms. It's not surprising to see yet another government program failing. What is puzzling about this situation is the way the public proposes to solve it: by pushing through more government programs to repair the ones that failed.

When a private business screws up, it pays the price in falling revenue, and may ultimately be forced out of business. When the government screws up, the opposite happens. The government just gets bigger! The public gives the government more money and more power to try to fix the problem again. Sure, individual politicans may lose their seats, and parties may lose power, but ultimately the institution grows.

If the state of California is unable to provide a decent system of education for our tax dollars, I would prefer to re-direct my tax dollars to another institution that can. Unfortunately, I don't have that option, since the state is a monopolist. Which leads me to the subject of elections, the one time the state does give us the option to "choose". I'll save that rant for another blog.