by Dan Sebring

In a recent letter to the President, Gwen Moore and the Black Caucus called for the creation of a new government “pre-apprentice” program to provide “the baseline of education that so many people lack in our poor community.” Many has been the time that Rep. Moore has said “education is the key” to the success of the present as well as the future generation. And do you know what? Ms. Moore is right! Here’s the thing though. The taxpayers already provide “a baseline of education” to every last child in the nation. The “pre-apprentice program” she’s referring to already exists... it’s called High School! And anyone who lacks “the baseline of education” to qualify for a job training program is free to go back to school and get their GED. Many times on the taxpayer’s dime. Ms. Moore herself is the receipient of a college education courtesy of the American taxpayer. There comes a time when the citizenry must take responsibility for themselves. This is one of those times.

Rather than propose yet another government bureaucracy that will grind up taxpayer’s money with administrative costs and actually train relatively few people to work in an industry (the new “green economy”) that doesn’t actually exist, the President could simply continue to record public service announcements encouraging kids to stay in school. Those who did not finish should go back and get their GED and with it will come the knowledge they need to succeed in the job market.

In America an individual is still rewarded in direct relation to the amount of effort they put forth. And I’ll use myself as an example. I own my own business as well as a home, and while in the Navy, I served on the Chief of Naval Operations intelligence staff. And yet with the exception of a few specialized college level courses, my level of education does not go beyond holding a high school diploma. I aquired a “baseline of education” in public school, graduated, and I built on that. In a recent poll conducted by the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, 62% of Wisconsinites believe people should succeed on the merits of their own actions, not by the intervention of Federal government assistance programs. As one of my high school teachers put it, “In America you write your own ticket!” Individuals rise on individual effort.