One of the criticisms I often hear regarding markets is that markets, with their prices, cause many goods to not "be affordable*" to many who need it. But studying things like price controls and other interferences in market forces teaches us that artificially making something "affordable" often doesn't change who gets it. And if someone who couldn't afford it can now get it, it is often of shoddy quality. Opening up markets and providing more choices to consumers often makes those who, we think, will be hurt the most, instead, better off. Witness Minneapolis:
Remember "white flight" from big-city schools in the 1970s? Well, today it's black families who are fleeing fastest. In Minneapolis, those families can now opt out of troubled district schools, thanks to an explosion of school choice options, including charter schools and open enrollment in suburban schools.
Ironically, the district's white enrollment, as a portion of all students, has increased slightly in the past two years after decades of falling. It's black families from high-poverty neighborhoods -- North Minneapolis, Phillips, Whittier -- who are leading the exodus.
And to those who think we have, in general, too many choices:
Louis King puts it this way: "The best way to get attention is not to protest, but to shop somewhere else."
What has the lack of school choice (historically) done?
"I'm a strong believer in public education," King said. "But this district's leaders have to make big changes or go out of business. If they don't, we'll see them in a museum, like the dinosaurs."
One of the things that markets do is put a little more discipline in the day-to-day business world. Schools that face competition can't as readily dismiss a student complaint about a teacher or a program. And competition forces schools (and the teachers' unions) to be more flexible and more efficient in what they do.
*When people say "I can't afford it," sometimes they really mean that they don't have enough resources to buy it. But at other times, they mean "I have enough money but even though I like it, there is something else that provides me with more value at its prices." In other words, "I can't afford it" means "I chose something else."
Update: Whups! I forgot to acknowledge, for a HT, Katie for the StarTrib link.