Competition and choice – cars, hamburgers, schools and ice cream

Glenn Mollette
In 1975 I bought a Chevrolet Monza with a four-cylinder engine. In my opinion it was a terrible purchase and a terrible car. It kept having problems with maintenance and the four-cylinder engine was just junk.
I survived that car long enough to trade it in for a Toyota Celica. I felt like I went from the bottom to the top in the world of driving. The ride was so smooth and the acceleration was great compared to what I drove before. I drove that car for about eight years and never had a problem.
That was then. Things are different in America today. Overall, our cars are better, safer, more powerful and more efficient than ever before. We have made great strides in our automotive industry and we can be thankful for one thing – competition. Germany, Japan and China have kept us on our toes for the last 50 years and competition has simply made us work harder to deliver a competitive product. We have choices and choices are good.
I grew up in Appalachia. There was only one doctor in our county seat. I remember my mother and I waiting two hours to see Dr. Ford in Inez, Kentucky. We desperately needed a few more doctors, for the good of the community and for the good of Dr. Ford. A second doctor down the street would have helped. Today, the town has more access to doctors, which is beneficial for everyone.
Can you imagine if McDonalds was the only fast food hamburger chain? In some communities, that may be the case. However, in many communities, there is often a McDonalds, a Burger King, and a Hardees, often all within a block or two. It seems to me that they are all doing well, although there is competition.
What if there was only one gas station in your town? Or if a single gas station operator owned all the gas stations in the area? Then the price of gas would be very high. In some communities, people are struggling with this exact scenario. Gasoline is so expensive in part because there is not enough competition. Don't put down those who are trying out electric cars, because that brings a new level of competition to the playing field.
Don't get upset if someone opens a private school in your county. When I was a kid, we only had one choice between elementary school and high school. In 1964, our county (Martin County, Kentucky) was considered the poorest county in the United States. President Lyndon Johnson even launched his campaign against poverty there. We didn't know we were poor, but we were either very poor or just poor. My father worked in the coal mines. We always had something to eat, but there was no way he could have paid the tuition for a private elementary or high school. It wouldn't have made a difference because there was no choice.
I liked my schools and my friends from that time, but we didn't have much. Public school provided us with an education. I remember two terrible teachers who slept through many of our classes. They should have retired or been fired many years ago. They were good people and were loved, but their days as teachers and classroom leaders were long gone. This can happen in many places, of course. Children rarely recover from what they were supposed to learn during this formative period.
A private school in the city could take money away from the public school if the tax dollars follow the student to the private school or even to another district. It could even be home schooling. 29 states and the District of Columbia have at least one private school choice program.
This angers and scares some school boards and administrators. Why be afraid of competition? I don't think many people want to pay extra money to send their children to a private elementary or high school. There are almost always additional tuition and fees, even when the tax money goes to the students. There will always be some who choose private school. Let them do it and don't worry. Just be a great public school with zero tolerance for bullying. Expect respect and work from students. Support teachers and expect them to do their jobs. Give students all the support and love they deserve. That way you don't have to worry much about local competitors.
In almost every town there are Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, etc. churches. You can belong to one of these churches or none at all. The choice is yours.
I recently went to an ice cream shop that offered over 100 flavors. It was hard to choose, but the black cherry won out over all the other flavors. The competition was tough, but I'm so glad I had the choice.
Glenn Mollette is published in all fifty states. Books by Glenn Mollette can be found at Amazon.com. Learn more about his books, columns and music at GlennMollette.Com. Email him at [email protected].