In the 1990s, I asked Milton Friedman how I should approach charitable giving. His answer was to invest in school choice, a concept he had invented decades earlier. At the time, school choice barely existed. Now, it’s exploding. Friedman’s advice was right on — my bet has paid off. Now, it is time for all of us who care about what’s best for children to double down.
After years of beating our heads against the wall, the school choice movement has figured out how to win. Yes, we have to do what Friedman did: invent the concept and explain why it’s good through think tanks and newspapers such as this one.
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But we also have to take the next step. We have to put money behind political candidates who will champion school choice, and we have to defeat those who won’t. And we especially have to get rid of any Republican who refuses to get on board with the civil rights issue of our time.
I grew up in Queens, so I pay attention to New York, even though I’ve lived in Philadelphia for many years. New York spends roughly $37 billion to educate about 850,000 children. That’s over $43,000 per child per year. And the results are abysmal: Two-thirds of fourth graders can’t do math properly, and almost three-quarters can’t read at grade level. The numbers are similar in almost all of our major cities.
I know many generous people who understand these realities and, with good intentions, are trying to do something to change the situation. Often, the first impulse is to give to scholarships and schools. This is a good thing — my wife and I do it now through the Yass Prize. But you can’t stop there. You have to bite the bullet and make the kind of investments that can get your name in the paper in uncomfortable ways and don’t get you a tax deduction: political donations.
This is the best philanthropic return on investment around, and there is no substitute. Look at Texas, now the largest state in America with universal school choice. Over 300,000 families have applied for Texas’s new scholarships. That’s the good news.
But here’s the bad news: It almost didn’t happen due to unified Democratic opposition and a few Republicans who opposed school choice. That only changed because Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) had the courage to campaign against members of his own party. A few of us gave him the money to do it, working with former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the American Federation for Children. President Donald Trump jumped in to help. Our candidates won and provided the votes to pass school choice.
The same process of discipline for recalcitrant Republicans had to happen in Iowa before Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) got to sign universal school choice, and it still needs to happen in Louisiana and Mississippi. It’s inexcusable for any Republican to carry water for the teachers unions at this moment of history, and I’ve enjoyed sending many of them into early retirement.
I’m also proud to support two brave candidates for governor, Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio and Byron Donalds in Florida, who are leading on the issue, and the Commonwealth Children’s Choice Fund’s work to expand the $600 million in school choice scholarships in Pennsylvania.
The other way we need to double down is improving what we’re offering to poor families through school choice. Right now, most scholarships are $5,000 to $10,000. That’s good, but it’s a fraction of what the government is spending, especially in big cities where the need is greatest. It’s time for truly brave political leaders to improve what we’re offering to poor mothers.
Over 13 years, in big cities, we’re spending more than $1 million on schools for every mother of two, and the results are a national scandal. Instead, we should tell those mothers they will get half of that government money as a voucher and the other half in an interest-bearing account for use after graduation. Who could campaign against that?
SCHOOL CHOICE ISN’T RADICAL. THE ALTERNATIVE IS
School choice puts the poor in control of their destiny. It plants the seeds of economic prosperity. It proves that liberty is better for everyone.
We are on the right side of history. The momentum is finally with us. Just like in business, with the right bets, a solid investment strategy, and persistence, we can make our generation the new abolitionists.
Jeff Yass is the managing director and a co-founder of Susquehanna International Group.