In regards to John’s blog concerning the optimal size of vouchers, assuming that vouchers are considered a good idea (and as many people know, I have strong reservations because they are likely to ruin private schools by bringing them under government control) one must first define the goal. If the purpose is to give people who cannot afford to exercise a choice to send their kids to private school, then vouchers clearly should be limited to lower income people and the vouchers should be generous. It is difficult to argue that an upper income family with one child who is buying a new Lexus every few years and sending their kid to the public school rather than to a private school is not exercising school choice. On the other hand, if the purpose is to bring justice to those who are being forced to pay for the public schools while sending their kids to private schools, an argument that Jerry Agar has been making recently, then vouchers are probably not the way to go. I think that non-refundable tax credits would be appropriate.
In the first instance vouchers are like food stamps, helping people to afford a necessity, i.e. a decent education. In the second instance the principle is more like a rebate for over payment.