Education: A Public or Private Good
Date: April 3, 2013 5:30p.m.
Location: The Museum of Northern Arizona
Facilitated by: Dr. Lori Poloni-Staudinger
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Welcome and Introduction
Andrea Houchard, Director of Philosophy in the Public Interest
Dr. Heidi Wayment, Director of NAU’s Compassion Project and Psychology
Department Chair
5:45:
Dr. Lori Poloni Staudinger, NAU, Politics & International Affairs Department

To what degree should society finance education?

To what degree should populations be excluded/included in educational opportunities?

To what degree should public funds be diverted to funding private education?
6:50:
Recap of discussion
Additional support provided by the McKenzie Endowment for Democracy and the Richard Wood Fund for the Teaching of Philosophy
What are Public and Private Goods?
Public Goods
Private Goods
Public goods are those goods that typically have the following features:
Private goods, unlike public goods, allow for excludability
and rivalry. In regards to excludability and being rivalrous in
consumption, a private good is the opposite of a public
good. A private good is one that is excludable, allowing
owners to prevent those who have not paid for the good
from enjoying its benefits. Private goods are also rivalrous—
consumption by one person prevents another from doing
the same.
1. Most members must take action or contribute to the
good.
2. Action of a minority or a few to contribute to the good is
insufficient.
3. If provided, the good will be available to all, or nonexcludible (including non-contributors)
4. There is no practical way of preventing
non-contributors from enjoying the good
5. Contributing to the good is a cost to the
individual.
Individual consumption of the good does
not make the good unavailable to others
(i.e. the good is non-rivalrous).
Rivalrous
Nonrivalrous
Excludable
Non-excludable
Private goods
Common goods
food, clothing, cars
timber, fish stock, coal
Public goods
Public goods
cinemas, golf courses, satellite tv
national defense, lighthouse
Education: Private or Public?
National Level
Federal Aid for Higher Education
Federal funding is crucial for providing financial support for higher education. Federal funding
can be provided in two ways: through institutional grants
(which is typically determined by student attendance) and
indirectly through student financial aid. However, the majority of federal spending on higher education comes in the
form of student-based financial aid. Federal aid is usually
directed at the financially neediest students, but recently
efforts have been made to make financial aid more accessible to middle class families. In 2012, the federal government directed approximately $160 billion dollars at student
-based financial aid.
Dream Act: The “Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors” Act was originally introduced in the U.S. Congress in 2001.
The bill has repeatedly failed to pass
since, attempts made in 2009, twice
in 2010, and again in 2011. It is expected that the bill will reach Congress in 2013 as it begins to approach
Immigration Reform. The bill provides
undocumented immigrant youths a
path to citizenship through joining the
military or attending college. It is estimated that the Dream Act affects
65,000 minors currently living in the
country.
DREAM Act General Eligibility Requirements (these vary
slightly with different federal and state proposals):
Arrive in the US prior to turning 16
Live in the US continuously for 5
years
Be less than 35 years of age
Earn a high school diploma or GED
Have good moral character (no criminal convictions)
Hot Topics Café, April 3, 2013
Executive Initiatives for K-12
The current level at which the U.S. competes in the global market is much lower than that of recent decades. The U.S. has
The Obama Administration has taken several steps to improve
often been called the land of equal opportunity, but too many
the nations K-12 education system. Some instances include:
people who work hard and play by the rules are slipping out of
Improved access to and quality of early education so every child
the middle class. According to the Organization for Economic
is prepared to start school.
Cooperation and Development (OECD), a child born into a poor
family in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark has
Challenged states to develop innovative approaches to raise stu- a better chance of moving up the income ladder than one born
dent achievement through a competitive process that costs less in the United States.
than 1% of what our nation spends on education.
Provided 33 states and the District of Columbia flexibility from
No Child Left Behind while raising student achievement standards, improving school accountability, and increasing teacher
effectiveness.
Supported grants to help states transform the 5,000 lowest performing schools in the country into safe environments where
students can learn.
Provided relief to states that helped keep hundreds of thousands
of teachers on the job in the face of budget cuts and proposed
funding to support additional education jobs.
Future of Education: Private or Public?
Considerations for Public Funding
When people refer to education as a public good they are likely
speaking in terms of the benefits that society as a result of having a more intelligent, flexible, innovative, and productive labor
force.
The diverse system of US higher education—including public and
private universities, smaller four-year independent colleges, two
-year community colleges, for-profit schools, and others—
already serves a number of important social purposes. According
to government projections, most newly created jobs over the
next decade will require college and workforce training.
Education can also be seen as a private good. As an investment,
individuals receive many of the benefits that come with educa-
Considerations for Private Funding
The U.S. was recently ranked 17th in Cognitive Skills and Educational Attainment
“If we want America to lead in the 21st century, nothing is more
important than giving everyone the best education possible —
from the day they start preschool to the day they start their career.” – President Barack Obama
"The future literally depends on how well we educate ALL of our
children." — Kurt Landgraf President & CEO, Educational Training Service
From 2011 to 2012, the total funding allocated to higher education in Arizona went
from approximately $1.08 billion to $814 million. A general trend
of lowering state funding has been mitigated through rising tuitions, beginning in 1980 and accelerating by 1990. Proposition
204, also known as the Quality Education and Jobs Act, was on
the November ‘12 ballot for Arizona voters, and was ultimately
rejected. Prop 204 would have renewed a 2010 voter-approved
one-cent sales tax, which would, among other things, provide
$50 million out of the projected $1 billion in revenue to the University, Scholarship, Operations and Infrastructure Fund.
State Level
The conclusions of low and falling funding for public education in
Arizona hold regardless of the source of data on education funding or of the measure used to analyze the funding data. In 2006,
per student spending in Arizona was lowest in the nation; the
state was ranked 49th in 1993. In late spring of this year, Arizona
lawmakers approved the state budget, which would allocate
$3.3 million in extra funding for NAU. Over the past 3 years, $60
million in state funding has been removed from the Arizona
budget.
tion. That is, one invests time, effort, and money in order to enjoy the benefits of a higher paying job and career flexibility.
Some worry that publically funded education, because the costs have consistently risen, fails to tend to the fundamental problems
and inefficiencies that cause prices to increase. Proponents of a market solution to the education problem hold that the privatization of higher education will foster a more efficient, high-quality and moral education system. One such solution (though not explicitly directed at funding for higher education) proposed by Milton Friedman is the voucher system. Friedman proposed that that
an education system based on vouchers would minimize inefficient government spending while giving low-income Americans, who
are traditionally stuck in the very worst public schools, a better chance at receiving a good education. Vouchers "would bring a
healthy increase in the variety of educational institutions available and in competition among them. Private initiative and enterprise would quicken the pace of progress in this area as it has in so many others. Government would serve its proper function of
improving the operation of the invisible hand without substituting the dead hand of bureaucracy."
The Museum of Northern Arizona
*Sources on Website
Hot Topics Café Community Committee
The “hot topics” in the Hot Topics Cafés are selected by NAU students that represent diverse
constituencies and viewpoints. We thank our committee for their participation.
Flagstaff
Sedona
*Allan Affeldt Owner, La Posada; Founder, Winslow Arts Trust; Former
Mayor, City of Winslow; Museum of Northern Arizona Board Member,
Arizona Town Hall Board Member, Arizona Citizens for the Arts Board
Member
Diana Arendt, County Chairwoman, Coconino County Republican Committee
*Scott Deasy, Deacon of Epiphany Episcopal Church, semi-retired OB/
GYN
Coral Evans, Flagstaff City Council
Jean Friedland, Compassion Project, Northern Arizona University
*Patty Garcia Coconino Community College District Governing Board,
Nuestras Raices, Raymond Educational Foundation Board
Ken Lamm, Flagstaff Community Foundation
*Stephanie McKinney, Chair, Flagstaff 40
*Marj McClanahan, Arizona Community Foundation, Flagstaff Community Foundation, Flagstaff Medical Center Certificate Holder, NAU Social
and Behavioral Sciences Advisory Council, Museum of Northern Arizona
Committee, Phi Beta Phi Financial Advisor, Arizona Society of CPAs
*Jerry Nabours, Flagstaff Mayor
*Wayne Ranney, Geologist, Author, Museum of Northern Arizona
Board Member, Grand Canyon Historical Society, Flagstaff Festival of
Science Board of Directors
Craig Van Slyke, Dean, NAU Franke College of Business
John Stark, General Manager, KNAU
*Michael Vincent, Dean, Northern Arizona University College of Arts
and Letters
*Harriet Young, First Vice Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party,
Arizona Town Hall Member, Member of the Museum of Northern Arizona, Member of the Arboretum at Flagstaff, President of American Association of University Women Flagstaff Branch, NAU Department of Politics and International Affairs since 1992
Rob Adams, Mayor of Sedona
Carol Gandolfo, President, Verde Valley Republican Women
*Jane Hausner, Executive Director, Verde Valley Sanctuary
*Tom O’Halleran, Arizona Republican Senator 2007-2009; President,
Keep Sedona Beautiful; Chair, Verde River Basin Parntership; Citizens
Advisory Board, PBS
Alicia Magal, Rabbi of the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde
Valley
John Neville, President, Sustainable Arizona, Lead, SEDI Sustainability in
Education & Green Business Network
*Judy Reddington, Northern Arizona University College of Arts and
Letters Advisory Council; Museum of Northern Arizona Board Member,
Philosophy in the Public Interest Advisory Board, Sedona Community
Plan, Sedona International Film Festival Board Member
Steve Williamson, President, Democrats of the Red Rocks
Ex officio
Robert Breunig, Museum of Northern Arizona
Kathy Farretta, Museum of Northern Arizona
Andrea Houchard, Philosophy in the Public Interest
Natalia Molina, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Yavapai College
Julie Piering, Philosophy Department
Scott Sanicki, Sedona Public Library
John Tannous, Coconino Center for the Arts
*Voted to select “hot topics” for the Fall of 2012.
NAU's Philosophy in the Public Interest is non partisan,
and does not endorse any position with respect to the
issues we discuss. Philosophy in the Public Interest is a
neutral convener for civil discourse.
Next Hot Topics Café
Navajo Generating Plant
Facilitated by: Dr. Matthew Goodwin, NAU Philosophy Department
Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 6:00p.m.
Location: The Museum of Northern Arizona
You are also invited to attend Hot Topics Cafés at the Museum of
Northern Arizona and at NAU’s Green Scene Café.. Visit
nau.edu/ppi for a schedule.
This informational handout was prepared by = Kyle Beloin, Coren Frankel, and Colin Towne NAU Hot Topics Café
Student Research Directors. Both Kyle and Coren have double majors in philosophy and political science at Northern
Arizona University. Colin is a student from the W.A. Franke College of Business.
Sources
Barr,N. (2012). Policy Forum: Financing Higher Education--Lessons from England. Canadian Tax Journal,
60(3), 611-620
http://nces.ed.gov/edfin/finance_data.asp
http://chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/is-education-a-public-good-or-a-private-good/28329
http://www.dreamact2009.org/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/07/dream-act_n_2639187.html#slide=2034861
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education
http://www.nifi.org/stream_document.aspx?rID=23201&catID=10&itemID=23197&typeID=8
http://www.whitehouse.gov/snapshots/improving-early-childhood-and-k-12-education
http://thelearningcurve.pearson.com/index/index-ranking
http://www.ets.org/s/achievement_gap/index.html
Friedman, Milton. On the Role of Government in Education.
L. William Seidman Research Institute. The Value of Higher Education: Individual and Social Benefits
(With Special Consideration for the State of Arizona). Tempe: Arizona State University, 2005.
Delta Cost Project. Trends in College Spending: 1991-2009. Washington D.C. 2011.
http://www.deltacostproject.org/data/national/
http://www.azsos.gov/election/2012/General/ballotmeasures.htm