Please Sir, Can I Have Some More—Vouchers, That Is

After reading Republican Delegate Chris Saxman’s OpEd in the August 11 Times-Dispatch , I am a changed man. Delegate Saxman’s concern for the poor children trapped in a system of failing government schools is so genuine that I need to rethink my attitude. Up until now I had thought that Mr. Saxman’s creation, School Choice Virginia, was just a mechanism for opponents of public education to move a big chunk of the public education dollar to private schools or homeschoolers. Now I realize that Mr. Saxman‘s motives are pure. But, Mr. Saxman is missing a big part of the problem. So…

Today I am announcing the creation of Police Choice Virginia and Fire Choice Virginia to further free the Commonwealth’s poor from coercive government services. The two groups will lobby the General Assembly for legislation granting choice to the poor when faced with crime or fire. Under the legislation, each poor family will be issued Virginia Police Vouchers and Virginia Fire Fighting Vouchers. These vouchers will afford these families the choice of using either government or private police and fire fighting services when they are faced with a crisis.

It doesn’t take a great deal of intelligence to know that the poor in our society are the victims of failing police and fire departments. Just look at the evening news and it is clear that the bulk of violent crime takes place in poor neighborhoods. This is a clear indication that our government police departments are not doing an adequate job in protecting the poor. And, wait until the winter. Almost all the victims of space heater fires will be the poor. Clearly the government fire departments are not protecting them.

Isn’t it about time we gave the poor the same choice that the wealthy have. You don’t see banks using government police to guard their money. No, they hire Brinks or Pinkerton or some other private police to protect their assets. Shouldn’t the poor have the same option? Police and fire-fighting vouchers are the solution to this inequity.

The availability of these vouchers will encourage the development of efficient private companies providing police and fire-fighting services. The competition from the private sector will be good for the government police and fire departments. Knowing that they have lost their monopolies in fighting crime and fires, the government departments will have to do a much better job or risk being closed down completely. It will clearly be a win-win situation.

With the poor being rescued from intrusive government services by school vouchers, police vouchers and fire vouchers, we will be well on our way to a government-free society. Next year I will form Library Choice Virginia, Social Services Choice Virginia, Parks and Recreation Choice Virginia and Public Works Choice Virginia. Soon, every citizen in the Commonwealth will be walking around with a wallet full of vouchers. We will all have choice and we will all be so happy!