Episode 34 – No, Central Planning in Education Does Not Work

Mark Geise Show – Mark Geise

In this episode, I discuss an article by economist Noah Smith (linked below) in which, in his infinite wisdom, he believes there are not enough universities in the United States. He calls for a federal system of universities and building projects to construct new universities, funded by taxpayers. He even gives passing reference to allowing supply and demand to work, despite his proposal to have central planners determine how many universities there are. Central planning has continually failed all around the world, yet professional economists still want to push it on us in sector after sector. Education and health care are especially prone to these calls. There very well not be enough universities in the United States (though I have argued in the past that there are likely more large, one-size-fits-all universities than there would be in a free market), but how about we allow people to decide? If the government got out of the student loan business and allowed markets to operate in higher education, there is a certain equilibrium point where supply would equal demand. That would be the “correct” number of universities, not whatever number technocrats like Noah Smith conjure up out of thin air. On a related note, I discuss a debate I had with my wife’s family over the holidays about privatizing K-12 education and the ultra-powerful teaching lobby in Canada. I also briefly discuss Meryl Streep’s Golden Globes speech.

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/mark-geise-show/Episode+34+-+No%2C+Central+Planning+in+Education+Does+Not+Work.mp3

Suggested Reading/Referenced Articles:
“The U.S. Needs More Colleges” – Bloomberg
Podcast: “Episode 33 – Cuomo Proposes ‘Free’ Tuition at New York State Universities” – Mark Geise Show
Podcast: “Episode 28 – Trump Names DeVos Education Secretary and Talks to Taiwan” – Mark Geise Show
Podcast: “Episode 3 – The Free Market Solution to Student Loans” – Mark Geise Show
“Celebrated Teacher Explains Why Schools Don’t Produce Well-Educated Minds” – Foundation for Economic Education
“Golden Globes 2017: Meryl Streep’s anti-Donald Trump speech in full” – The Independent
Video: “Did Trump really mock reporter’s disability?” – YouTube
Video: “Connecting Crime Scenes Present to Past” – YouTube (Reporter Serge Kovaleski talking at length)