Guest Post by Ron Paul
This week the House of Representatives will vote on a package of bills making the temporary tax cuts contained in last year’s tax reform bill permanent and making additional tax law changes. The bills will likely pass in the House, but will almost certainly be filibustered in the Senate if the Senate leadership tries to bring them to the floor.
The GOP tax plan does offset some of the damage caused by federal control of education by making it easier for parents to escape failing government schools or “edexit.” It accomplishes this by allowing money saved in a tax-free 529 education savings account to be used for homeschooling expenses.
This provision will help homeschooling families and inspire more families to consider homeschooling. Homeschooling parents must not only pay for all their children’s education expenses, they also must subsidize government schools via property taxes and other taxes. A commitment to homeschooling may also require a parent to limit or even forgo outside employment.
Despite the financial costs, more families are choosing to homeschool. This is due to increasing dissatisfaction with government schools, greater public acceptance of homeschooling, and the availability of quality online homeschooling curricula, such as my Ron Paul Curriculum.
My curriculum provides students with a well-rounded education including rigorous programs in history, mathematics, and the physical and natural sciences. The curriculum also provides instruction in personal finance. Students can develop superior oral and verbal communication skills via intensive writing and public speaking courses. Students also get the opportunity to create and run their own internet businesses.
The government and history sections emphasize Austrian economics, libertarian political theory, and the history of liberty. However, unlike government schools, my curriculum never puts ideological indoctrination ahead of education.
Unlike government schools, and even many private schools, my curriculum addresses the crucial role religion played in the development of Western civilization. However, the materials are drafted in such a way that parents of any or no religious belief can feel comfortable using the curriculum.
Interactive forums allow students to engage with and learn from each other. The forums ensure students are actively engaged in their education as well as give them an opportunity to interact with their peers outside of a formal setting.
The latest Republican tax plan has laudable features, such as allowing the use of tax-free education savings accounts for homeschooling. However, as long as Congress refuses to offset tax cuts with spending cuts, the benefits of tax cuts will be limited and short-lived. Therefore, while all lovers of liberty should support any and all tax cuts, we must work to pressure Congress to cut spending. Bringing the troops home and shutting down the Department of Education are two good places to start.
Parents interested in my homeschooling curriculum can find out more about it at ronpaulcurriculum.com.
I love Ron to death, worked heavily on both of his recent presidential runs, and have contributed lots to even his Congressional campaigns (why not, my asshole congresscritter certainly wasn’t representing MY views), but I hate his on-going support of tax credits to solver bigger problems. The main reasons are that government NEVER runs a balanced budget, so any revenue lost on one hand, is ALWAYS STOLEN via the other (either more debt or cuts). The other is that NO government money (even in the form of tax breaks), EVER comes without huge strings attached. Ron even hints at some in his piece. Either parents have the freedom to educated their children as they see fit, and have their tax dollars back from the government monopoly system, or they will forever be subject to ridiculous rules and regulations that are about control, not quality education. In order to qualify will one have to submit one’s curricula? What about maintaining a detailed log of times? What about audits or unannounced inspections? Its a slippery slope.
I had the same issues with his support of tax credits to cover medical expenses. Countless “alternative” treatments are not now allowed to be paid for with Health Savings/Spending Accounts, and likely those same restrictions would follow any tax credits. Yet these therapies are saving lives, preventing disease, and overall lowering the aggregate cost of health care in this country. And then there is the distortion of the market. Once someone knows that someone is getting a tax break for paying for the services, there is no incentive to drop prices, and all players in the market know this truth.
FREEDOM is the only thing that ever works to keep all segments of the market in check and in balance.
I know that Dr. Paul supports these goals in the end, but his support of government-controlled interim “solutions” only delays the needed discussion and rebellion against the government system that has destroyed choice and freedom for all consumers.
Great ideas, Mr. Ron. Unfortunately, it will be a tough, uphill slog to make progress on the two battle fronts, with the National Educators Association public teachers union and their BS money grabbing agendas and narrative, and bringing home the troops common sense for peace and national debt cancer cure face stiff opposition from the MIC, and their greedy lobby for wars.
As always, follow the money, when we smell corruption and wasteful spending.
By both parties, and in many more areas than these two cited.
Encouraging, though, that intelligent parents have other options than the public school system and all it’s flaws.
The online course availability by Ron Paul and others (Kahn Institute is but one)…is an attractive example of great development, for people with their kids greater education as a valuable goal, if the disciplined extra effort and time can be made a priority.
Kudos and cheers all around.
Curious what the Ron Paul Curriculum teaches about The Holocaust ™