XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
From: boy.did.i.fuck.up@shouldhavestayedhome.org
On 2/11/26 9:24 AM, super70s wrote:
> On 2026-02-11 13:47:34 +0000, Pretti dumb said:
>
>> On 2/10/26 9:09 PM, super70s wrote:
>>> In article <10mfcch$2ugse$14@dont-email.me>,
>>> Pretti dumb wrote:
>>>
>>> Well aren't we 2 cute by 1/2.
>>>
>>>> On 2/10/26 12:36 AM, super70s wrote:
>>>>> On 2026-02-09 23:59:47 +0000, Promises Promises said:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Thomas Kane, an education expert at Harvard, believes that the
>>>>>> national
>>>>>> gloom about education is overdone, partly because the three out-
>>>>>> performers show what is possible, just as earlier periods of
>>>>>> improvement
>>>>>> in Massachusetts, Florida and Tennessee underscored the power of
>>>>>> evidence-based policies and meticulous execution.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> “"States around the country have a lot to learn from what
>>>>>> Mississippi,
>>>>>> Alabama and Louisiana are doing,”" he said.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "We liberals need to wake up to the reality that we are being
>>>>>> outperformed
>>>>>> on education, opportunity and racial equity -- supposedly our
>>>>>> issues. As
>>>>>> recently as 2019, blue states had better average test scores than red
>>>>>> states, after adjusting for demographics; now, red states are mostly
>>>>>> ahead. We used to say that education was the civil rights issue of
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> 21st century, and if so, we should be ashamed that by that metric,
>>>>>> Mississippi Republicans are ahead of California Democrats. If we care
>>>>>> about kids, we must be relentlessly empirical, and that must mean a
>>>>>> willingness to learn from red states."
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Kane said something you don’t expect to hear from a Harvard
>>>>>> professor:
>>>>>> "“I
>>>>>> hope that there are lots of governors that are looking at
>>>>>> Mississippi and
>>>>>> saying, ‘Look, I want us to be next.’”"
>>>>>
>>>>> Are you fine with states giving $7,000 or more of your tax money to
>>>>> mostly already well off families to privately school each of their
>>>>> kids?
>>>>
>>>> If they're as well off as you claim, it's more likely "their" money as
>>>> opposed to "your" money. Your argument overlooks that those families
>>>> are
>>>> already subsidizing the system through taxes without using it.
>>>
>>> Well even some Republicans who represent smaller counties in my state
>>> are against these school voucher scams because it's taking funding from
>>> the public schools where they are.
>>>
>>>> Universal choice isn't about handouts—it's about returning control
>>>> to parents
>>>> and letting competition drive better outcomes for all kids.
>>>
>>> If there's "competition" like a horse race that means there are winners
>>> and losers, there shouldn't be any losers when it comes to eduction.
>>> Every child should have the same opportunities.
>>
>> Voucher programs don't inherently "take funding" from public schools
>> in the way critics claim. The money is allocated per student, so when
>> a child leaves for a private option, the public school no longer has
>> to educate that student, freeing up resources for those who remain. In
>> fact, many states with vouchers (like Arizona and Florida) have seen
>> overall public school funding increase alongside them, thanks to
>> competition driving improvements and efficiencies.
>
> Sounds like a lot of propaganda from the Christian nationalists, who
> organized this campaign to use public money for their private schools
> and are targeting every red state they can.
Sounds like an intellectually lazy response. Calling it purely
"propaganda from Christian nationalists" overlooks the broader coalition
supporting it: libertarians, education reformers, and even some
Democrats in places like D.C. and Louisiana who've backed targeted
programs for low-income families. The idea traces back to economists
like Milton Friedman in the 1950s, long before modern culture wars, as a
way to empower parents and introduce competition.
In reality, vouchers aren't exclusively for religious schools—many go to
secular private, charter, or online options, and homeschooling resources
that aren't faith-based. While some Christian groups (like those tied to
Betsy DeVos or the Heritage Foundation) have pushed hard for them to
support faith-based education, the programs are open to all qualifying
families, regardless of religion. And data shows they're increasingly
used by diverse groups: in Arizona, for example, about 40% of ESA users
are from low-income households, and participation spans urban and rural
areas.
Choice isn't about ideology—it's about letting parents pick what's best
for their kids, including low-income families who benefit most.
>> If those well-off families you mentioned are already paying taxes but
>> opting out, vouchers just return a portion of their contribution to
>> follow their child, rather than forcing them to subsidize a system
>> they're not using.
>
> In my state both the poor and the rich pay 10% in state and local taxes
> for every dollar they spend, and there's no state income tax. So I'm
> immune to your "only the rich pay taxes" spiel.
Who, other than you, said only the rich pay taxes? That aside, the point
is, everyone contributes to education funding (via sales, property,
etc.), so why shouldn't families—rich or poor—have a say in where their
kid's allocated dollars go? Vouchers don't "give" extra; they redirect
per-student funds to follow the child, often at less than full public
per-pupil cost (~$7,300 voucher vs. $12,000+ average in TN publics),
leaving more for remaining students.
> The governor is a Republican dick though and pushed for the voucher
> program, even without any auditing of the income of the families
> applying for it. Now they're trying for "universal vouchers" in an
> attempt to privatize education and completely dismantle and defund
> public schools.
>
Based on what you described, I assume you're talking about Bill Lee.
Yeah, he pushed for universal Education Freedom Scholarships (now in
year 2, expanding to 40,000 spots) skips income checks because it's
designed for all families, prioritizing access over means-testing. But
he's recently signaled openness to adding academic accountability (like
reporting test results), which could address oversight concerns without
limiting who benefits.Far from "dismantling" publics, TN's public school
budget is growing—Lee's proposed $57B state budget includes $339M more
for publics (TISA formula, teacher pay to $50K, facilities), even as
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