Is this worth it? Private school tuitions are quite high now. I see families paying $40k+ annually for children attending private schools. And we are not talking high school level, elementary school. Is this worth it? Are these families just burning money thinking that their children will get a better education? That is the question. I will give you my take on this since I have my kids in private school right now.
The answer is maybe.
If you live in an area where the public schools are not the best in the country, I would say yes, it is worth it. Some public schools, at least here in the USA, are not the best. You have an environment where the kids can easily get in trouble if they start to hang out with the wrong group. Think of when you went to school. There are some students who you can tell come from the rough area of town. Of course, it is not their fault. It is the fault of the system that has failed them. They system has failed the student and the parents too.
Ok. Let’s stop for a minute. You may be asking yourself, has the Chief gotten a bit softy now since it is Christmas and he wants to blame the “system” for people who are just lazy and do not want to go out and get a job. No, I am not going softy and sure people often are where they are mostly because of the poor decisions they have made in life. But let’s be realistic here. Sometimes the environment and the conditions placed by institutions hinder your ability to succeed in life. Let me give you an example.
You all know I am an economist. And back in the day, when I went to college, one of the classes I took in economics was barriers to entry. Barriers to entry in economies but it can also mean barriers to entry in a way that discriminates against certain people so that they cannot get ahead.
Here is an example.
Say you work at a construction company. Well we see a lot of new employees coming into the workforce and gradually they are starting to learn the job and after a few years, they start to want more. More responsibilities. More opportunities to learn new roles within the company and the industry.
Well management sees that these folks will soon take the jobs of another group of workers. Management wants to protect these workers. So what do they do. They implement a new policy (which was not in place before) that in order for you to apply to work in a certain role (i.e., managerial position) you must have a certain license or a High School equivalent degree or some silly certification that you know the new workforce will not be able to attain within a few years. There you go, you just legally discriminated against a group of employees.
All industries do this all the time, mostly in blue-collar jobs (construction, electrician, mechanics, etc.) This is a way to block certain people from getting ahead and earning more.
Now let’s go back to the environment and the barriers to entry for folks who live in areas that do not have good public schools. Here is where public policy has failed these groups. The politicians and representatives from these districts do not have the interests of the people at heart. They have the interest of the businessowners and those who benefit from the power. That is the barrier to entry.
But let’s go back to the private school worthiness question.
If you live in one of these poor districts where the public school education is poor, then maybe it is worth it to send your kids to private school. I would not send my kids to private school if I were to live in one of these districts. What I would do is instead of using that money to pay for private school, I would set a plan to save within 2 or 3 years so that I can move to a district where the schools are great. That way I get the best of both worlds. My kids go to public school in a good district and I enjoy the perks of living in an area where I am safe and I can meet people who are less likely to be on parole. My kids will also make friends with kids who are less likely to get in trouble.
I will go as far as to say that even if you live in a good neighborhood, I don’t think it is worth paying for private school. In 2025, I am transferring my kids to public school. We live in an area where the average home is worth almost $2M so you know the children going to public schools are not poor.
So my suggestion to you, reader is, and always will be, look out for yourself and do not rely on government or any other institution to help you. Start now to save, invest and repeat. This is the only way you can get out of your situation. Living paycheck to paycheck and spending all your money on worthless items will only get you nowhere.
That is all for now.
Merry Christmas to all! Happy New Year. God will bless you and your family today and tomorrow.
The Chief