Milton Friedman on Schools and vouchers
I believe that the only way to make a major improvement in our educational system is through privatization to the point at which a substantial fraction of all educational services are rendered to individuals by private enterprises. Nothing else will destroy or even greatly weaken the power of the current educational establishment—a necessary precondition for radical improvement in our educational system. And nothing else will provide the public schools with the competition that will force them to improve in order to hold their clientele.
Context. From a February 1995 Washington Post article arguing that American elementary and secondary schooling must be radically reconstructed by privatizing much of it, through a universal voucher that lets parents choose their children’s schools, a plan he first proposed in 1955. Earlier in the article he names the school establishment, reinforced by the two national teachers’ unions, as the main obstacle to vouchers.
Where this comes from
Checked against the sourceThe wording was checked against the work itself.
Cite this passage
Milton Friedman, “Public Schools: Make Them Private” (The Washington Post, February 19, 1995; reprinted in full in the Congressional Record, Extensions of Remarks, March 28, 1995, pp. 9551 to 9552 (E703 to E704 in the daily edition), inserted by Representative Philip M. Crane., 1995), Congressional Record, March 28, 1995, p. 9552. https://miltonfriedman.org/quotes/only-way-improve-education-privatization-1995
Quoted for commentary and research. Rights in the underlying work remain with its rights holder, so cite the work itself, not only this page.
Topics
He also said
There is enormous room for improvement in our educational system. Hardly any activity in the United States is technically more backward. We essentially teach children in the same way that we did 200 years ago: one teacher in front of a bunch of kids in a closed room.
Context. From a February 1995 Washington Post article arguing that American elementary and secondary schooling must be radically reconstructed by privatizing much of it, through a universal voucher that lets parents choose their children’s schools, a plan he first proposed in 1955. He goes on to say that only competition from private enterprise, as in other industries, would bring real innovation in how children are taught.
Public Schools: Make Them PrivateColumn, 1995, The Washington Post, February 19, 1995; reprinted in full in the Congressional Record, Extensions of Remarks, March 28, 1995, pp. 9551 to 9552 (E703 to E704 in the daily edition), inserted by Representative Philip M. Crane., Congressional Record, March 28, 1995, p. 9552The good news is that, despite these setbacks, public interest in and support for vouchers and tax credits continue to grow. Legislative proposals to channel government funds directly to students rather than to schools are under consideration in something like 20 states. Sooner or later there will be a breakthrough; we shall get a universal voucher plan in one or more states. When we do, a competitive private educational market serving parents who are free to choose the school they believe best for each child will demonstrate how that market can revolutionize schooling.
Context. From an essay written fifty years after his 1955 article “The Role of Government in Education,” in which he first proposed school vouchers. Just before, he describes two statewide voucher initiatives in California, in 1993 and 2000, both of which led in the polls nine months before the vote and were defeated after a well-financed campaign against them.
Free to ChooseColumn, 2005, The Wall Street Journal, June 9, 2005; reprinted in Hoover Digest 2005 No. 3 under the title “Free to Choose”Checked against the sourceRead the sourceThe basic justification for a free enterprise system is that the possibility of profit will lead private individuals seeking their own interests to promote the social interest by producing only those products for which people are willing to pay and producing them at lowest cost. But a profit system can work only if it is also a profit and loss system, only if projects that do not pay are not carried out, and when enterprises make a mistake about a project, they must bear the consequences. If government bails enterprises out, either in advance on the expectation of a loss, or after the event when a loss has been realized, the fundamental justification of a free enterprise system is destroyed.
Context. From a statement he sent to Senator William Proxmire’s Joint Economic Committee in December 1972 for its hearings on the supersonic transport (SST). The Senate had voted in March 1971 to halt federal funding of an American SST, and the hearings considered whether to revive it. He is explaining why he opposes subsidizing the SST.
Statement on the SSTLetter, 1972, Letter to Senator William Proxmire, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, dated December 11, 1972, submitting a statement for the record of the committee’s hearings on the supersonic transport; printed in full in the Congressional Record, Senate, January 11, 1973, p. 796, inserted by Senator Proxmire., Congressional Record, January 11, 1973, p. 796Checked against the sourceRead the original
Think this quote is wrong, misattributed, or missing context? Report it and it gets fixed, not argued with.