Mike’s Musings: Competition and the freedom to choose – cars, hamburgers, schools, and ice cream

Dr. Glenn Mollette 
In 1975, I bought a four-cylinder Chevrolet Monza. In my opinion in was a terrible buy and a lousy car. There was one episode after another of maintenance issues and the four-cylinder engine was just a piece of junk. 
I survived that car long enough to trade it in on a Toyota Celica.  I felt like I had gone from the bottom to the top in the world of driving. The ride was so smooth and the acceleration was sweet in comparison to what I had been driving. I drove that car about eight years and never had an issue. 
That was way back then. Today is different in America. Overall, our cars are better, safer, more powerful, and more efficient than ever before. We have come a long way in our auto industry and we can be thankful for one thing – competition. Germany, Japan and China have put us on our toes the last 50 years and the competition has simply made us work harder to deliver a competitive product. We do have a choice and choices are good. 
I grew up in Appalachia. We only had one doctor in our county seat town. I can remember my mother and I sitting for two hours waiting to see Dr. Ford in Inez, Kentucky. We desperately needed a couple more doctors for the sake of the community and for the sake of Dr. Ford. A second doctor down the street would have helped. Today, the town has more access to doctors which is good for everyone. 
Can you imagine if McDonalds was the only fast-food hamburger chain? In some communities, it may be. However, in many communities there is a McDonalds, a Burger King, and a Hardees often all within a block or two. Seems to me like they all do well even though there is competition.  
What if you only had one gasoline station in town? Or, what if one gasoline distributor owns all the local gasoline stations? Then the price of gas would be very high. In some communities, people are struggling with this exact scenario. Gas is outrageous partly because there isn’t enough competition. Don’t knock those who are trying out electric cars as it brings another level of competition to the playing field. 
Don’t get upset if someone starts a private school in your county. When I was a child, we had one choice for elementary and high school. In 1964, our county (Martin county Kentucky) was said to be the poorest county in the United States. President Lyndon Johnson even began his campaign on poverty there. We didn’t know we were poor but we were either very poor or marginally poor. My dad had a coal mining job. We always had food to eat but there was no way he could have paid tuition for a private elementary or high school. It wouldn’t have mattered because there wasn’t a choice. 
I loved my schools and loved my friends from those days, but we didn’t have much. The public school made it possible for us to receive an education. I can remember having two terrible teachers in those days who slept through many of our classes. They should have been retired or fired many years prior.  They were good people, and they were loved, but their days of teaching and handling a class had long passed. Obviously, this can happen in many places.  Children rarely recuperate from what was supposed to be taught during that formative period.
A private school in town could take money from the public school if the tax money follows the student to the private school or even to another district. It might even be home school. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have at least one private school choice program.
This aggravates and terrifies some school boards and administrators. Why be afraid of competition? I don’t think very many people want to pay extra money to send their kids to a private elementary or high school. There is almost always extra tuition and fees to pay even if the tax money follows the student. There will always be a few who choose the private school. Let them do it and don’t worry about it. Just be a great public school with zero tolerance for bullying. Expect respect and work from the students.  Support the teachers and expect them to do their jobs.  Give the students all the support and love they deserve. Thus, you won’t have to worry much about local competitors. 
Most every town has the Baptist, Methodist, Catholic churches, and more. You can be one of these or nothing at all. You have a choice.
I recently went into an ice cream shop that had over 100 flavors. The decision was tough but black cherry won over all the other flavors. The competition was fierce, but I’m so glad I had a choice. 
Glenn Mollette is published in all fifty states. Find books by Glenn Mollette at Amazon.com Learn more about his books, columns and music at GlennMollette.Com. Email him at gmollette@aol.com