Everybody knows that a lot of government programs are at best wasteful and at worst harmful. But of course, some government programs promote “good things” as well.
For instance, with childhood obesity on the rise, most of us probably agree that children ought to be fed nutritious, balanced meals at school.
But even good things such as more healthful meals at our nation’s public schools aren’t free. Somebody has to pay for them.
So it is not surprising that a lot of poorer schools around the country are troubled by the new school lunch and breakfast regulations imposed on them by the Obama administration. The regulations have the noble goal of improving students’ health, but the schools say they just don’t have the money to comply. The rules require the purchase of more expensive food and equipment – and yet as we know from right here in Hamilton County, education budgets are not exactly “rolling in the dough” right now.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that the new menu requirements at schools across the nation will boost the price of every meal served at school by 14 cents. That may not sound like a lot of money, but when it is multiplied by tens of millions of lunches and breakfasts served every day in our country’s schools, it adds up to a major financial headache. In San Diego alone, changing school breakfasts to comply with the federal regulations will cost the district $4 million!
“I think what is unanswered here is, where will the resources come from?” a spokeswoman for the National School Boards Association recently told The Associated Press.
Unfortunately, all too often that question remains “unanswered” when government imposes regulations without first considering the costs.
This is just one more painful example.