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I Hope That Ms. Ruben Isn’t a Teacher of Economics or of Logic

Here’s a letter to the Wall Street Journal:

Editor:

Beth Ruben argues that teachers’ unions oppose charter schools because such schools “pay significantly less than public or even private schools” (Letters, July 21). She then concludes that “[a] charter school may have special perks such as smaller class sizes and mandatory parental involvement, but that won’t pay the rent.”

Ms. Ruben’s argument runs afoul of reality. If employment at charter schools really were so unappealing as to not attract enough teachers, charter schools would either raise their pay or become defunct – and in either case rid teachers’ unions of their alleged justification for opposing charter schools. The fact that these unions continue to vigorously oppose charter schools implies that these schools are in fact attracting enough high-quality teachers without paying them the inflated salaries doled out to too many K-12 public-school teachers.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
and
Martha and Nelson Getchell Chair for the Study of Free Market Capitalism at the Mercatus Center
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030