The State versus Civil Society (Mario Rizzo) - The Turney Collection - Libertarianism.org

[@nthperson]

Exemption from property taxation by local government is a significant subsidy to private educational institutions as well as other not-for-profit entities.

[@nthperson]

The question raised about vouchers would be important IF the hierarchies of how schools operate was reversed. Teachers ought to be forming schools based on a shared philosophy of education. The teacher/owners would then hire administrators. We would not need elected or appointed boards of trustees. A needs-based voucher system would provide reasonable opportunities for parents to make choices about which school to send their children. Families would apply for the tuition voucher and receive one or more vouchers based on program affordability criteria established by the level of government providing the vouchers. The next question is what should be the source of revenue to provide tuition subsidies. As Milton Friedman and other economists have argued, the most appropriate source of public revenue is the rental value of locations (i.e., of land). Whether this would yield sufficient revenue to pay for all local public goods and services as well as leave funds for a tuition voucher system is a community-by-community question.