by Ed Finn

Created on: July 30, 2008

I'm sorry. I just have to vent here for a moment. I was driving home this afternoon and saw a huge billboard that read "Hoosier Uplands: You are not alone." It was a picture of a group of children and some workers. Obviously, I thought this must be referring to the Head Start Program. At first, I thought "well, at least it is helping kids." After all, who can be mad if money is going to children? I have two boys and either one or two more kids on the way. Sure they deserve the best. Well, then I started to look into some things.

The first thing I did was remember that I have to pay my youngest boy's pre-school tuition in a few weeks. So, I wondered just what all went into the Head Start program that the American Taxpayer is paying for. I looked up a few numbers, as I am prone to do and found out that not only am I ineligible to have my child attend head start, as 95% of children in America are, but also that the average per capita cost per child is over six and in some cases ten times what my cost to enroll my son in a program is. Now, I don't know if this strikes anyone else as odd, but it sure hit home with me.

Maybe I am oversensitive, but I feel that as an American that every child has a right to a quality education and a good start in life. I, however, do not see spending anywhere from $7,000 - $10,000 per child for pre-school as a wise use of that money when some private pre-schools charge anywhere from $1,000 4,000 to perform the same service. I am no expert, but this just seems like being wasteful for the sake of being wasteful. Not only are you saying that only certain children who are at the quote "poverty line" are important, but you are also making it harder for those who are financially strapped and unable to send their kids to pre-school feel like failures.

The people we are leaving "alone" as Hoosier Uplands would say are the ones who work hard and try to make something out of their lives. A good example came up today. About 17 years ago I worked in the local grocery store. I worked with a man who had Down's syndrome. He is still working in the store today and we, my family and I, ran into him. I shook his hand and he gave the kids a high five. This man goes to work every week, gets a paycheck and has pride in his life. I have absolutely no problem knowing that my tax dollars are going to help support this man in any services he may need.

The previous story is meant to mark the stark contrast. This man has a disability and is recognized as

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