Not to be left out of the conversation, the Republicans have put forth their own policy agenda for addressing the vast income inequality in the U.S. Among other issues is education. Fixing income (and wealth) inequality requires increasing education levels. This is a logical argument. We know that on average those with more education make more money.
Education, in theory, can be the great equalizer. To increase education levels, some argue, we need to fix our failing school system On this point, there are those that agree with it from both sides of the aisle. Decrying PISA scores, bashing teachers and hammering schools in general is par for the course for many policy makers.
The "fix" for our schools as unveiled by the Republicans is more market-based competition i.e. bring on the charters. Never mind the fact that research has shown charters to on average perform lower than traditional public schools. Never mind the evidence that demonstrates that countries that use choice systems tend to get worse not better. And we're we to make international comparisons, top performing Pisa scores come out of places such as Fiblabd in which not only is there no choice but also standard testing is rare. After years of evidence on the failure of market-based solutions on education, it is phenomenal that it continues to be the favorite reform among republicans and neo-liberals. In this era of big data and evidence based decision making, wouldn't it be interesting of policy did just that?