Governor Romney recently vetoed a bill in Massachusetts that would have provided state-sponsored preschool. He said the cost would be in excess of $1 billion and that the benefits of universal preschool (for 2-4 year olds) are unproven. His stance earned him plaudits from the conservative National Review and Evangelicals for Mitt. Note that the bill passed both houses in Massachusetts unanimously, so Mitt’s stance is likely to be pretty unpopular in the Bay State.
I’m not sure how I feel about this issue.
Florida just started state-sponsored preschool for four-year-olds. My wife and I are looking forward to having our son get a few hours a day of socialization with other kids at the government’s expense, rather than ours. When my two older children were preschool age, they went to a paid preschool program that was quite good. I am expecting the public preschool program to be good as well.
If there is anything the government should invest in, it is public education. My instincts tell me that this is something that will help inner-city kids, new immigrants and working mothers most of all. These are the people who cannot afford private preschool, and government preschool should give them a head start.
On the other hand, I am in principle opposed to the massive expansion of government we’ve seen lately. Programs like this are not free — the funding comes from raising taxes on everybody. In addition, I’m not convinced it’s in society’s best interest to have more kids taken from their parents at such an early age (2 seems way to young to me).
I’m open-minded on this issue and would welcome input. Opine away!