An Argument for Federally Funded Universal Preschool

Abstract

Public education is the strongest way to address our country’s poverty as an institution grounded in both political and moral reasoning. However, our current school system is flawed with inequality. I find that inequalities in education begin even before children enter kindergarten and the school system is never able to overcome this initial negative impact. I propose Universal Preschool to combat these early inequalities. A universal program would provide social, health, and educational benefits to the participant as well as providing benefits to their families and society at large. I address the major critiques of this proposal and show that while their arguments have validity, the potential costs of Universal Preschool are considerably smaller than the potential benefits.