Bob Schaffer: “We have some opponents to the plan, unfortunately, and I think that opposition is somewhat premature. It is almost…”

“We have some opponents to the plan, unfortunately, and I think that opposition is somewhat premature. It is almost reflexive because of the battles that have been traditional here in Washington. When we talk about having a closer connection between taxpayer and child, some people in this bureaucracy over here seem to be threatened by that. I just want to point out for those interested in preserving this bureaucracy, that is not a goal of mine particularly, but I just want to make it clear the tax credit proposal does not touch this bureaucratic model. We are not messing with the Department of Education laws or the bureaucracy in any way. We are changing the Tax Code, which is different. But this whole bureaucracy is going to continue to grow. If history has shown us anything, it is that it does not matter who is in charge of Washington, whether it is a Republican or Democrat, this bureaucracy grows by massive proportions from year to year, and that is not something to be proud about or brag about from my standpoint as a conservative, but that is the reality. For those who believe that a tax credit means that there will be fewer dollars spent in the traditional bureaucratic way in schools, Arizona is a perfect example. Arizona passed a tax credit proposal similar to what we are proposing here and the result was actually a benefit to Arizona's public school finance law.”