Last night at the Bensalem School District Meeting, the decision was made to cut the hours of the program, not the program itself. By cutting the hours of the program, the district is able to save money each year but at the same time does not leave these young women stranded. It was a very good compromise between all parties involved – and really, that might be what is most important. Community members were able to express concerns about their community to elected officials and everyone was able to walk away happy.

My question was in regards to Dorie’s Libertarian beliefs and desire for limited government. Supporting social welfare programs that target specific groups are contrary to many of the core beliefs that a Libertarian would have.

This is a program that should stimulate the economy. Imagine a world where people they are not able to be upwardly mobile. That’s the reality of people who get pregnant at a young age and drop out of school. And I do mean those who get pregnant, because often the fathers will continue on whatever course they were already on. These programs are expensive, but they have to be seen as an investment in the economy and society.

What happens to people who do not have the minimum of a high school education? Often they do not make much money and many get some sort of government assistance. So if we are thinking of the economy, these programs, especially ones with 90% graduation rates, are well worth the money and investment.

Most of us don’t think about it because we are already on the better end of the deal, but not having a high school education is a giant barrier to doing almost anything. You can’t join the military without a high school education and likely won’t even get a job at KFC. Who wants to take a chance on someone who is not motivated enough to finish high school? Really, to finish high school, all you have to do is show up, do the bare minimum of work and not screw around too much. Simply having the assistance to jump this hurdle means the world to people and dramatically increases their chances of success in being a contributing member of society.

Dorie, I have worked in and with programs like this before and have seen them lose their funding and it’s always sad. There is little rhyme or reason to who gets funding and who doesn’t. I have seen great programs die and terrible ones continue to get funded. It’s either corruption, short-sightedness or simply random.

Keep up the good work and advocacy. Thanks for posting about this!

Programs like these are mainly funded with government money, either state or federal. Given the current issues regarding the economy, many states are having severe budget issues and cutting all but critical programs, and even slicing deep into those. So as someone who is a proponent of limited government, how do you balance that belief with your desire for programs like these?