Money in the Bank
Our stated goal was to work within the confines of the present court-ordered settlement, to show how the approximately 100 million dollars per year spent on the busing program could be better utilized to achieve the goal of removing the vestiges of segregation. However the total cost of the programs we suggest toward this end is only 75 million dollars per year.
Certainly, it would have been possible to increase the scope of our proposal to make use of this excess; spending more money is never a problem. Additional programs could be implemented, or more money could be devoted to the programs already suggested. However a point is reached when return from an expenditure decrease. It is important that money is spent not simply because it is available, but because it brings us closer to the goal of ending the vestiges of segregation.
We have suggested putting 200 million into the entrepreneurial fund. This could easily be increased to make use of the extra money. 200 million dollars, however, is not an insubstantial sum of money. It is possible that the fund will never be completely utilized, that there will never be 200 million in outstanding loans at any one time. This being the case, putting more money into the fund would in all likelihood serve no purpose.
Further, it is possible that spending more money can in some ways work against the goal of removing the vestiges of segregation. The tuition guarantee covers only tuition, and does not provide for expenses such as school textbooks. The amount of aid could be increased to cover every possible cost associated with post-high school education. However ending the vestiges of segregation requires extending self-determination to inner-city Blacks, giving them the tools to take control of their lives. Self-control, obviously, requires a commitment on the part of the individual. If every cost associated with higher education is provided for, continuing education becomes the path of least resistance; it is not necessarily an active choice, but can rather be a means of avoiding choice for an additional four years. If, to take advantage of the tuition guarantees, a student has to make a token financial commitment by paying for his or her own textbooks, then they must also make a mental commitment. Additional education becomes not the path of least resistance, but rather a conscious decision. By asking something of the students, the tuition guarantee hopes to spark the mental commitment to self-control. Paying for a greater share of continuing education would work against that goal, and so work against the goal of ending the vestiges of segregation.
Thus we propose to hold the excess funding in reserve; essentially to bank it. Over time, needs will change. Some programs will prove to be ineffective, while some will be effective and justify additional funding. By holding some money in reserve, we would have a cushion to respond to a changing situation. In our view, this makes more sense than spending money just to be spending it.
Next: A Choice of Approaches