I hate to do this, because I love Joan, I love Salon most of the time, and she's a great spokesperson for progressivism. But this piece today... what can I even say?
First, the title is "The Danger In Hyping Preschool," which right away lets you know that she has some reservations about "hyping" preschool. It assumes the fact not in evidence that it is mere "hype."
Then. Well. It starts terribly.
There’s a first time for everything, and this is the first time I’ve agreed even a tiny bit with conservative social theorist Charles Murray.
Yes. That Charles Murray. The fucking
Bell Curve guy. You know, the asshat who thought that he had proved that black people have lower IQs. He also "proves" that patriarchal nuclear families create success. He's the social conservatives equivalent of the free market economist. Everything is just perfect if you do what rich, white, male, Christian people do. It's a fucking law of nature.
Walsh's main beef is Obama's claim that
Every dollar we invest in high-quality early education can save more than seven dollars later on – boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, reducing violent crime[]" is part of the "'The great liberal failing' [,] “constantly to over-promise and to overstate, and thereby constantly to appear to under-perform.” In what may be a new moment for liberalism, we have to avoid that mistake.
It doesn't get much concern trollier than that!
So, let's say it saves just $1.10 instead of $7. Do you think anyone could complain? Let's say, shucks, it doesn't save money. Does that make it wrong? Does that make it un-liberal?
Canada has "junior kindergarten" for 4 year olds. In fnord-China-fnord, they start at 2! Some countries provide voluntary free preschool, like Denmark. Evil pinko commie France also has free 2-5 year old schools. Someone will have to fill me in on whatever the right-wing hero nation is today, whether it's Latvia Israel Singapore Switzerland. I assure you, like all of these former heroic Randian paradises that have universal healthcare, they have some kind of education for preschoolers.
Now, my wife is an elementary school principal. She can pick out which kids have been to preschool and which haven't by looking at them when they start K. That's somewhere in between anecdote and evidence, but until Walsh does something more than just waffle between two studies and complain about whether there will be really a 7x multiplier, I'm going with my wife's "mere anecdotes" and am going to believe that preschool is a good thing for everyone if they want it, especially where parents have to work so hard to keep the lights on.
Walsh should know that Moynihan's claim is largely thanks to Republican sabotage of many our social initiatives. Sure, the Great Society didn't pan out, I guess. But is that because LBJ overpromised, or is it because of a political reaction took hold in its wake. Has Medicare "underdelivered" What about Social Security?
Pointing out that GOP sabotage of social initiatives is likely is far different than concern trolling the President (and using Charles fucken Murray to do it) about a plan that, whether it single-handedly solves the fnord-deficit-fnord or not is still A Good Thing.
Come on, Joan. You're better than this.
Sat Feb 23, 2013 at 4:07 PM PT: I find the entire subtheme about whether HeadStart works irrelevant on a number of levels. (1) a universal program would be different; (2) as one commenter points out, if we elect a society where both parents have to work, then we need to pick up the slack sooner. Even just making safe daycare available to parents even if it had no long term magic effects would be a real benefit, now. One that I'm for even if it doesn't "net" us money.
Finally, whether or not you agree with Walsh's pedantry about the 7:1 ratio, I think it is almost inarguable that this is a paradigm case of concern trolling. Claiming that the era of Republican asecndancy in the last generation is nothing more than a marketing failure on the part of liberalism is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard, one that would probably make Rick Perlstein shit a brick. If you're for something, be for it, ffs.