Word: vouchers
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...national passenger train service, Amtrak, chose to take a direct route to the bottom line by unveiling a "travel right or your money back" offer. Announcing better customer service, improved food options and enhanced amenities on board, Amtrak president George Warrington pledged to offer dissatisfied train passengers a refund voucher starting later this year. Under pressure to become fully self-sufficient by 2003, Amtrak sees improved service as a way to increase passenger volume and rake in $85 million over the next three years...
...Indeed, just last month the farmer sank his entire life savings--$8--into an account to help collect food and supplies for Kosovo's refugees. In return, Bejadini was given a pistachio-colored receipt with no inscription of the collector's name or the purpose of the donation. The voucher--now neatly folded in four--holds pride of place in Bejadini's empty wallet, next to the picture of his wife...
Vasant M. Kamath claims (Op-ed, April 27) that vouchers for private schools would "alleviate the crisis in American public education." Nothing is farther from the truth. Vouchers give government money to parents so that they can send their children to private or parochial schools. Advocates of the voucher system say allowing parents of poorer children to choose private schools will cause all schools to compete in a market system and will produce a more effective and efficient educational system...
However, research shows that voucher systems in Cleveland and Milwaukee were not effective. Cleveland voucher students did markedly worse than their public-school counterparts on standard tests. Mark Peterson's studies used to support alleged gains by voucher students have been criticized for serious sampling errors and unfair comparisons...
Free market efficiency comparisons between vouchers and public schools are not valid. Since public schools must provide education for all students, they have special burdens (costs in free market terminology) that private schools do not bear. For the voucher market to be truly competitive, the government would have to pay subsidies to public schools for the special social burden they alone must bear, and provide lead time to make use of this subsidy...