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Saturday, May 01, 2010
Conversation With A Libertarian Candidate
Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of conversing extensively with Arvin Vohra, a young entrepreneur who has put himself forward for public office in the state of Maryland. It had been quite a long while since I last involved myself with any candidate or campaign, but when Mr. Vohra's associate Tanuja Paruchuri asked for an opportunity to publicize his campaign through Eternity Road, I was too charmed to say anything but yes.
Mr. Vohra is 31 years old and single. He's the founder and operator of Arvin Vohra Education, a company that provides and designs educational services and supports of many kinds, to private individuals, schools, and businesses. Education is his driving passion. It's the overwhelming reason he sought the Maryland Libertarian Party's nomination for one of District 15's three seats in the 141-member Maryland House of Delegates, the lower house of Maryland's bicameral legislature.
As I lack the ability to record phone conversations, what follows is a summary of the highlights of our exchange, as near to the exact words Mr. Vohra used as my 58-year-old memory can provide.
Education is a critical factor to American society, according to Mr. Vohra: "We can and do outsource many things, but we can't outsource education." Indeed, he continued, one of the driving forces of American outsourcing is the steadily less competitive performance, in international terms, of American public schools. He sees the education issue as the overwhelmingly dominant statewide issue Maryland voters must confront.
Overall, Mr. Vohra said, in comparison with the other 49 states Maryland's public schools "do pretty well," though the state's statistics are far from uniform. However, the American norm for public education guarantees that even the best of our public schools won't look all that good by world standards. Given the far better performance of the private sector in education, he sees education vouchers as the best immediate remedy. As he put it, "Subsidize the consumer, not the educator."
The three sitting delegates from District 15 are all Democrats. As do Democrats everywhere, they reflexively support increases in funding to the public school system regardless of the results. Of course, such positions also have the enthusiastic support of educators' unions. Yet, despite the obvious personal interest teachers and school administrators have in increasing the flow of funds to their institutions, Mr. Vohra believes they can be reached on this issue. The average teacher, he says, isn't in the classroom principally for personal gain, but to teach. He's confident that a message that emphasizes improvements in education can persuade even those with a heavy personal stake in the system as it stands.
At this time, Mr. Vohra says, Maryland admits to an average per-student-year expenditure of about $13,000. That figure excludes certain expenditures on capital plant and maintenance, so the actual figure might be higher. All the same, it's quite a lot of money for a system that can't produce students who can compete with India and Japan. Mr. Vohra's core policy proposal is a $7500 voucher, redeemable at any certified school in Maryland, for every student for every year of his school tenure. Though that's only slightly more than half the annual political expenditure, he believes it would have the necessary main effect to persuade those concerned with Maryland education that competition will be the key to improvement.
I found Mr. Vohra's most striking characteristics to be his focus, his optimism, and his willingness to commit to the long term. He talks about education and nothing else. As a Libertarian, he's aware that the major parties would prefer not to admit to his existence. However, he's confident that a small-government approach to education policy will resonate with Maryland voters, not merely today but over the years to come. Finally, even if his campaign doesn't get him elected this year, he's "in it for the long term." He believes that what matters is results -- that Marylanders might differ on means but are united on ends, and if they can be shown that his approach is superior, they'll flock to it regardless of prior opinions and affiliations. Therefore, he intends his outreach efforts to persist well beyond the dimensions of his 2010 campaign:
"When it comes down to policy," he said, "there's the value part and the technical part. We all want future generations to have the best education possible. When it comes to the technical part, in regard to education, most people can find a way to work together....Many teachers I know can see this would be beneficial. They want to be able to teach, and the unions and regulations impede them. Give me a little freedom, they say, and I'll show you what I can do."
In short, Mr. Vohra is an extremely attractive young candidate who, if he can maintain his energy and his optimism, has a bright future in Maryland politics...and possibly beyond.
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