Good Government
Free Market Friday: Federal strings
May 20, 2016
Jonathan Small
The Obama administration’s recent decree – which would, among other things, allow boys into girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms and showers – has generated predictable outrage and pushback. Oklahoma lawmakers are reportedly considering legislation that would protect students’ privacy.
But this federal intrusion comes as no surprise whatsoever. Just as high school students have no right to complain when their parents are paying the bills. As education researcher Greg Forster memorably put it, “with the president implementing his new commode core program, now can we finally admit it’s unrealistic to expect the federal government to keep its hands off schools?”
Washington, D.C., bureaucracies use federal funds to manipulate transportation priorities, pushing things like HOV lanes that some communities may not need or want. They use participation in medical welfare programs to control how doctors’ offices bill their patients, actually preventing certain kinds of discounts for patients. Federal funds in every area come with strings attached.