additional debate over health care reform

[AMoore]

Reliance on the cooperation of others?

Education is not addressed in the Constitution, however, rights are not limited to those inalianable rights identified by the founders, or the words of our Constitution.  Rights can be bestowed upon people in a democratic society.

Does society need access to education any more than access to health care?

I'll say it for a fourth time: public education is a product of socialism.  The issue is not whether redistribution of wealth is proper, but how much.

I'd bet your defintion of "essential government activity" differs from mine, but here is an example.  Teaching. Yes, expensive private schools produce more productive students, but that is only because they start with a better student.  Private school teachers are generally less educated and are paid far less than public school teachers.  Most would not last a week in a Philadelphia public school.  They are hired in private schools in order to keep costs down.  Charter schools which are required to have open door enrollment are failing miserably.  What have you heard about Edison schools lately?  You simply cannot educate the masses for a profit.

There are some public schools that can be selective with respect to its student body.  In fact students from two Phladelphia public schools, Masterman and Central traditionally have the highest SAT scores in the entire state.  Those kids have parents that care, and highly qualified teachers.

Admittedly, public schools do have a problem with wasting money, and those problems need to be addressed in a manner that does not involve throwing good money after bad, but the charter school phenomena has run its course.