We're All Welfare Queens Now

I've been a strong supporter of school vouchers for years and am frustrated that libertarians and conservatives are too polite to play the race card on this issue. Example: "Of course Hillary Clinton opposes vouchers, she doesn't want black kids being able to go to the same private schools as Chelsea." This would really put so-called "progressives" on the defensive. (And because they perfected the race card, they deserve it.)

But, I've always been sympathetic to libertarian opponents of school vouchers who warn that they could bring private schools under state control, put the millions of Americans who have their children in private schools on welfare, and reinforce Americans' sense of entitlement. So, I found the following quote in Reason writer David Weigel's latest article very thought-provoking.

The slate's central ward candidate, Dana Rone, is probably its most vocal advocate of school choice...

"Vouchers have been pegged as something negative in the African-American community," Rone says. "When I explain them to people who are skeptical, I say: Look, you get vouchers. Medicare is a voucher. Social Security is a voucher. Welfare is a voucher. This is the same principle; it's the equalizer that can get your kids into good schools. And when you explain it like that, they understand and they support it."

Yikes. If that's what they are, I don't want them. Of course, Medicare and Social Security are not voucher programs, which is part of the problem with them. That, and the programs shouldn't exist.