Opinion: Why do Democrats support vouchers for used cars, but oppose them for children’s education?
Friday, June 19th, 2009A recent Reuters article describes just one more liberal-led intrusion by the federal government into what should be a mostly-private national economy:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate rejected on Thursday an attempt to strip a $1 billion program aimed at spurring flagging U.S. car sales from a pending $106 billion war funding bill.
The Senate voted 60-36 to keep the program that would provide vouchers of up to $4,500 for consumers to trade in their less fuel-efficient cars for ones that get better mileage, a program known as “cash for clunkers.”
It must be asked: why has Obama repeatedly stated that he does not wish for the federal government to permanently run General Motors; and rather than approving of this voucher for used cars, why are Congressional Democrats not instead telling us exactly which cars to buy?
A car is a complex piece of equipment. We are told by nearly every level of American authority — federal, state, and local governments, most local Chambers of Commerce, Johnson County Republican Party Chairman Ronnie Metsker — that parents are too stupid to be able to choose where to send their children to school. In terms of providing the service of education, the elites tell us that parents are either ill-equipped, or worse, that their religiosity cannot be trusted.
Cars are also more dangerous in the short-term: sure, the lives of children may be slowly ruined within government-run schools, particularly those operating in the inner cities, but a passenger can die instantly in a car. Shouldn’t Congress instead be telling individual Americans exactly which cars we should be purchasing? And shouldn’t Congress be permanently operating automobile companies, just as they are permanently operating our providers of education?