Commentary
-
Our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions on complex topics.
With Democrats’ multi-trillion dollar Build Back Better Act hitting a wall in the U.S. Senate, President Biden has now suggested that components of the bill be advanced separately.
One of these components is a plan for government funded universal pre-k schooling. Federal funds would be provided for six years, the first three funded 100% by the federal government, with the share provided by the states increasing up to 40% by year six.
The estimated costs off this universal pre-k takeover generated in this bill is about $200 billion, according to the sponsors. But like the entire Build Back Better Act, the cost estimate is far below reality. American Enterprise Institute analysts suggest a more realistic price tag should be around $500 billion.
We’re talking here about adding hundreds of billions of dollars of new pre-k education infrastructure, requiring, by some estimations, more than 50,000 new teachers, plus classrooms, and all other components of setting up a whole nationwide education structure.
And what exactly are the merits of this idea of universal pre-k? Yes, there is some research out there that shows a few benefits from a well-structured pre-k program. But absent are solid conclusions of lasting benefits. And most of the supposed benefits are among low income, disadvantaged children because the programs are giving them structure and discipline that they are not getting at home. But providing pre-k investment and then sending these same children off to the broken k-12 public schools in these same neighborhoods is ridiculous.
Let’s turn for a moment to Nobel Prize winning University of Chicago economist, James Heckman. He’s a highly regarded expert on the importance of early child development.
When asked about universal pre-K in a recent interview, his reply was, “I have never supported universal pre-school…. public preschool programs can potentially compensate for the home environments of disadvantaged children.”
(But) “No public preschool program can provide the environments and parental love and care of a functioning family and the lifetime benefits that ensue.”
Heckman went on to observe that, “The family is the source of life and growth.
“Families build values, encourage (or discourage) their children in and out of school.”
“Families – far more than likely to – create or inhibit life opportunities than schools….
“Schools can only partially compensate for the damage done to children by dysfunctional families.”
And even if we accept Heckman’s observations, we’re still left with some big questions.
What is our understanding now of family and what is deemed to be dysfunctional?
These are questions we have to ask ourselves because woke culture will condemn any defense of traditional values and therefore any traditional idea of family.
If our goal as society is to help the 3- and 4-year-olds growing up in dysfunctional families have a fighting chance to have a successful life, then one option to receive education in a traditional framework is church schools.
But this is one option that, uh-uh, not going to be available through the Democrat universal pre-k mega funding proposal.
Democrats are just interested in options that are basically extensions of public schools… all of the indoctrination included.
Facilities that are used primarily for “sectarian instruction or religious worship” don’t qualify, per President Biden. This despite government data indicating that a quarter of parents currently send their 3–4-year-old children to church, are sending them to church related childcare facilities. Right now, a quarter of these are already choosing these environments that are church related that will no longer be qualified under this universal pre-k proposal.
The bottom line is that, once again, what Democrats really want, this time in the name of childcare, is government-funded progressive takeover of our entire lives.
So, in my opinion, the multi-billion-dollar Democrat universal pre-k proposal should meet the same fate as the Build Back Better Act of which it was a part. It should be stopped.
-
Left-leaning politicians too lenient with pro-Palestinian protesters
Pro-Palestinian protests have spread across the nation, prompting President Biden to make a public statement. On May 2, in a roughly four-minute address, Biden condemned violent behavior while urging demonstrators to maintain peace. Meanwhile, college administrators are straining to strike a balance between students’ free speech and physical safety. Straight Arrow News contributor Star Parker…
-
House Speaker Johnson’s foreign aid bill shows a focused GOP
Following months of deliberation regarding U.S. assistance to its allies, the Senate approved a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson spearheaded the approval of this wartime funding amidst renewed calls from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., for him to resign. Straight Arrow News contributor Star Parker asserts…
-
Biden using taxpayer dollars to buy voters is indefensible
In July 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned President Biden’s attempt to cancel more than $400 billion in student debt. Biden has since been exploring ways to bypass the ruling. Recently, he announced that over 270,000 individuals enrolled in his income-driven repayment plan (SAVE) will have $7.4 billion in debt canceled. This action brings the…
-
Trump should move ahead with federal abortion bans
Decades-long Republican efforts to roll back abortion access are now paying off in the aftermath of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court ruling which overturned Roe v. Wade. And yet today, an overwhelming majority of Americans say that they believe at least some abortion access should be protected. GOP presidential candidate Donald…
-
Biden’s White House shows hostility toward Christianity on Easter
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden recently hosted an education-themed Easter egg roll at the White House, while also acknowledging International Transgender Day of Visibility. Some Republicans criticized the White House for banning religious themes from designs in the children’s egg decorating contest. Straight Arrow News contributor Star Parker argues that the White House…
Latest Opinions
-
EPA says San Francisco dumped billions of gallons of wastewater into ocean
-
Bill would have immigrants reported to ICE if they illegally try to buy guns
-
A US county is seeing success with 32-hour workweeks
-
VP hopeful Kristi Noem faces further backlash for memoir yet to be released
-
New EV tax credit exemption will benefit US consumers, but also China
Popular Opinions
-
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum.