The Problem with Trump’s Agenda 47 for Homeschoolers

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The Problem with Trump’s Agenda 47 for Homeschoolers


Mises Wire
Conor Sanderson
08/22/2024


Homeschooling has never been an experiment. Parents teaching their children the individual and unique things which they believe they should know has not only been the way of life before the public school experiment, but is the most libertarian way to address the total governmental failure and inefficient model of so-called education.


Public schools have long since been incapable of keeping up with the trajectory of our Information Age, unable to keep students safe from both ideology and violence, and representing an all-around outdated model of an ineptly-run government daycare system. Homeschooling not only represents a fundamental exercise of parental autonomy and responsibility but offers a chance of relief from a failing model.


Though Trump’s “Agenda 47” makes him seem like a champion of homeschoolers, it’s another bait-and-switch, laying the groundwork for total government oversight, and has potential for demanding arcane metrics from the same establishment from which homeschoolers are escaping. One of the upsides to homeschooling, among the many, is that it allows parents to take charge of their children’s education, free from government intervention and bureaucratic red tape. This perspective is rooted in the principles of individual liberty and limited government.


Trump pledged to allow homeschool parents to use 529 education savings accounts to contribute up to $10,000 a year per child, completely tax-free, in order to spend on costs associated with homeschool education. What are the stipulations behind taking this money from the government? Well, of course, he doesn’t say. Am I wrong to be wary? Of course not. It wasn’t long ago that a simple “15 days to slow the spread” turned into the largest government overreach and set of tyrannical orders that the United States has ever seen. No matter how tasty the dangling carrot, it always comes at a price.


Parents, not the state, have the primary responsibility for their children’s education and upbringing. Homeschooling enables parents to make decisions about their children’s education without interference from government agencies or public schools. As soon as the bait has been taken, the switch begins. What will that switch entail? That’s anyone’s guess, but the looming consideration that the requirements of standardized testing, curriculum mandates, and other forms of government oversight are around the corner isn’t too far fetched.


Trump also noted that he will work to ensure that every homeschool family is entitled to benefits available to non-homeschooled students including participating in athletic programs, clubs, after-school activities, educational trips, and more. In most areas, these are already available to homeschoolers, though many happily decline as the enrichment opportunities for those who homeschool are incredibly varied and enriching as is.


Homeschooling offers self-reliance, allowing parents and children to tailor their education individually, rather than being limited to a one-size-fits-all public school system. When offered a one-size-fits-all incentive, one has to wonder if the scope of homeschooling will become narrower.


Is this policy a positive or negative? Trump is largely a media machine, saying the right words, dangling the right carrot, and playing a character who checks the right boxes for a certain sect of his base. However, “Bumpstock Trump” is either fully aware of the way he sets the stage for the intrusion of big government or completely inept regarding the spaces he leaves open, exploiting the vulnerable in the process.


In conclusion, the libertarian perspective sees homeschooling as a fundamental exercise of parental autonomy and responsibility, allowing parents to make choices about their children’s education without government interference. While for many, offering government funds would allow for families who struggle as is to continue to teach their family the way they see fit, the potential for severe consequences looms.


One of the most basic principles of economics comes in handy here: “There is no such thing as a free lunch,” and the downside is, once we take a bite, homeschoolers everywhere could be footing the bill.


https://mises.org/mises-wire/problem-trumps-agenda-47-homeschoolers
 
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LOL

"Look at the good changes he wants to make to a bad system, they'll make it much worse.....trust us."

LOL
 
LOL

"Look at the good changes he wants to make to a bad system, they'll make it much worse.....trust us."

LOL


That quote isn't in the OP article, can you cite its source?


What I did find in the OP was:

"Though Trump’s “Agenda 47” makes him seem like a champion of homeschoolers, it’s another bait-and-switch, laying the groundwork for total government oversight"


There are other of his Agenda47 which are just as bad, I have posted/commented on them. Hopefully Mises.org will get around to writing more about those too.
 
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That quote isn't in the OP article, can you cite its source?

It's right here:
It wasn’t long ago that a simple “15 days to slow the spread” turned into the largest government overreach and set of tyrannical orders that the United States has ever seen.


The problem is he's misquoting it as "trust us" when the article actually said "trust your eyes and ears and bank account and failed business and dead relatives you didn't get to visit and vaccine injury reports and complete upending of the US economy dumping all of that lost small business revenue into the coffers of giant corporations and the 8T of new dollars that is actually what lead to the inflation everyone is bitching about".

I mean at this point let's just rewrite history everywhere. It was all Stalin's fault, what happened in the USSR. Lenin bears no responsibility despite having the same policies and being friends with him and teeing him up.
Everything that happened in Germany was Admiral Donitz' fault. We can't blame Hitler for any of it because he was dead by the time we found out about it.
Saladin is really more responsible for the forceful spread of Islam than Mohammed ever could be.
Chairman Mao was blameless. Everything that's happening in China is clearly Xi Xinping's fault.
Everyone should know Kublai Khan was the real monster. Genghis was just trying to make Mongolia great again.
 
That does sum it up beautifully.

That eight trillion newly created dollars couldn't have taken a year or two to really gutpunch us, even if that is how inflation has always worked.
 
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Mises Wire
Conor Sanderson
08/22/2024


Homeschooling has never been an experiment. Parents teaching their children the individual and unique things which they believe they should know has not only been the way of life before the public school experiment, but is the most libertarian way to address the total governmental failure and inefficient model of so-called education.


Public schools have long since been incapable of keeping up with the trajectory of our Information Age, unable to keep students safe from both ideology and violence, and representing an all-around outdated model of an ineptly-run government daycare system. Homeschooling not only represents a fundamental exercise of parental autonomy and responsibility but offers a chance of relief from a failing model.


Though Trump’s “Agenda 47” makes him seem like a champion of homeschoolers, it’s another bait-and-switch, laying the groundwork for total government oversight, and has potential for demanding arcane metrics from the same establishment from which homeschoolers are escaping. One of the upsides to homeschooling, among the many, is that it allows parents to take charge of their children’s education, free from government intervention and bureaucratic red tape. This perspective is rooted in the principles of individual liberty and limited government.


Trump pledged to allow homeschool parents to use 529 education savings accounts to contribute up to $10,000 a year per child, completely tax-free, in order to spend on costs associated with homeschool education. What are the stipulations behind taking this money from the government? Well, of course, he doesn’t say. Am I wrong to be wary? Of course not. It wasn’t long ago that a simple “15 days to slow the spread” turned into the largest government overreach and set of tyrannical orders that the United States has ever seen. No matter how tasty the dangling carrot, it always comes at a price.


Parents, not the state, have the primary responsibility for their children’s education and upbringing. Homeschooling enables parents to make decisions about their children’s education without interference from government agencies or public schools. As soon as the bait has been taken, the switch begins. What will that switch entail? That’s anyone’s guess, but the looming consideration that the requirements of standardized testing, curriculum mandates, and other forms of government oversight are around the corner isn’t too far fetched.


Trump also noted that he will work to ensure that every homeschool family is entitled to benefits available to non-homeschooled students including participating in athletic programs, clubs, after-school activities, educational trips, and more. In most areas, these are already available to homeschoolers, though many happily decline as the enrichment opportunities for those who homeschool are incredibly varied and enriching as is.


Homeschooling offers self-reliance, allowing parents and children to tailor their education individually, rather than being limited to a one-size-fits-all public school system. When offered a one-size-fits-all incentive, one has to wonder if the scope of homeschooling will become narrower.


Is this policy a positive or negative? Trump is largely a media machine, saying the right words, dangling the right carrot, and playing a character who checks the right boxes for a certain sect of his base. However, “Bumpstock Trump” is either fully aware of the way he sets the stage for the intrusion of big government or completely inept regarding the spaces he leaves open, exploiting the vulnerable in the process.


In conclusion, the libertarian perspective sees homeschooling as a fundamental exercise of parental autonomy and responsibility, allowing parents to make choices about their children’s education without government interference. While for many, offering government funds would allow for families who struggle as is to continue to teach their family the way they see fit, the potential for severe consequences looms.


One of the most basic principles of economics comes in handy here: “There is no such thing as a free lunch,” and the downside is, once we take a bite, homeschoolers everywhere could be footing the bill.


https://mises.org/mises-wire/problem-trumps-agenda-47-homeschoolers

The biggest problem with Trump's plan is in bold. That requires even more federal government involvement in K-12 under the guise of helping people who don't want to be involved with government education in the first place. If states want to open up their athletic programs to homeschoolers they have every right to do so. Some private schools already allow homeshoolers to buy into extracurricular activities. Making the public schools do this would fiancially disincentivize homeschoolers from providing needed case to Christian private schools which are already struggling in some instances.
 
Agenda47: President Trump's Pledge to Homeschool Families



TRANSCRIPT

As President, it was my honor to support America’s homeschool families—and to protect the God-given right of every parent to be the steward of their children’s education.

Since the China Virus, America has seen an estimated 30 PERCENT increase in homeschool enrollment.

When I am reelected, I will do everything I can to support parents who make the courageous choice of homeschool.

Under the Trump tax cuts, we allowed families to use 529 Education Savings Accounts to spend up to $10,000 a year tax free on tuition for grades K through 12. This was a tremendous win for School Choice -- very important, school choice, remember that term —and yet, that benefit did not apply to homeschoolers.

So to support the growing homeschool movement, in my next term, I will immediately fight to allow homeschool parents the same incredible benefit--$10,000 a year per child, completely tax free to spend on costs associated with homeschool education.

I will also work to ensure that every homeschool family is entitled to full access to the benefits available to non-homeschooled students—including participating in athletic programs, clubs, after school activities, educational trips, and more.

To every homeschool family, I will be your champion.

Do not vote Democrat. They are looking to destroy you if you don’t mind my saying that. Joe Biden can’t put two sentences together and yet he is looking to destroy you. Do not vote Democrat. Do not vote for Crooked Joe.

Vote for Honest Donald.

Thank you very much.

"Under the Trump tax cuts, we allowed families to use 529 Education Savings Accounts to spend up to $10,000 a year tax free on tuition for grades K through 12. This was a tremendous win for School Choice -- very important, school choice, remember that term —and yet, that benefit did not apply to homeschoolers.

So to support the growing homeschool movement, in my next term, I will immediately fight to allow homeschool parents the same incredible benefit--$10,000 a year per child, completely tax free to spend on costs associated with homeschool education."

So he wants to create a new tax shelter for homeschoolers. OK. No taxes would be better, but playing the tax credit and shelter game is what they do. Cui bono this time? Tax credit for private school benefit private schools. Any specialized tax breaks tend to be a benefit for some special interest.

"I will also work to ensure that every homeschool family is entitled to full access to the benefits available to non-homeschooled students—including participating in athletic programs, clubs, after school activities, educational trips, and more."

What in the world does that entail? Is that more government spending? More government organizing or overseeing? How about no law related to what kids do in the way of sports, clubs or other "after school activities".
 
Agenda47: President Trump's Pledge to Homeschool Families





"Under the Trump tax cuts, we allowed families to use 529 Education Savings Accounts to spend up to $10,000 a year tax free on tuition for grades K through 12. This was a tremendous win for School Choice -- very important, school choice, remember that term —and yet, that benefit did not apply to homeschoolers.

So to support the growing homeschool movement, in my next term, I will immediately fight to allow homeschool parents the same incredible benefit--$10,000 a year per child, completely tax free to spend on costs associated with homeschool education."

So he wants to create a new tax shelter for homeschoolers. OK. No taxes would be better, but playing the tax credit and shelter game is what they do. Cui bono this time? Tax credit for private school benefit private schools. Any specialized tax breaks tend to be a benefit for some special interest.

"I will also work to ensure that every homeschool family is entitled to full access to the benefits available to non-homeschooled students—including participating in athletic programs, clubs, after school activities, educational trips, and more."

What in the world does that entail? Is that more government spending? More government organizing or overseeing? How about no law related to what kids do in the way of sports, clubs or other "after school activities".

Are the families paying taxes that go to the schools?
Trump is just saying they should get whatever benefits of their taxes they want instead of being excluded because they don't submit their children to the grooming and brainwashing.
 
Are the families paying taxes that go to the schools?
Trump is just saying they should get whatever benefits of their taxes they want instead of being excluded because they don't submit their children to the grooming and brainwashing.

Trump is just protecting property taxes from the ire of people who are sick of supporting indoctrination and grooming stations.
 
Trump is just protecting property taxes from the ire of people who are sick of supporting indoctrination and grooming stations.

Ridiculous.
Much as I support ending public schools and property taxes we both know they aren't going anywhere any time soon, maybe not in our lifetimes.
Trump is trying to help more people homeschool and get their kids out of the indoctrination centers.
 
Ridiculous.
Much as I support ending public schools and property taxes we both know they aren't going anywhere any time soon...

That's your answer to everything.

The reason they aren't going anywhere is because nobody in the power structure wants them to, least of all Donald "American University" Trump.

It's obvious to anyone with eyes to see.
 
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