I have a winning issue for a "Compassionate Conservative", one that not only the Libertarians and the religious right in the Republican Party would support, but even may Democrats would approve of.
Make all school tuition for children under eighteen tax-deductible.
Either the money is being spent on religious education, or it is being spent on general education. If it is the former, contributions to religious organizations are tax-deductible. Why should paying to religiously educate someone else's kid be tax-deductible, and paying religiously educate your own kid not be? And if the money is being spent on general education - that is an investment in the future of our country. Democrats tend to want the government to invest more in education because of its long-term economic benefits. This person who is spending his own out of pocket money should at least be given a tax break.
The only group that would be dead-set against this proposal would be the teachers union, which always supports the Democrats anyway. A Republican candidate would have nothing to lose and perhaps much to gain by campaigning on this issue. Now whether you support this idea or not, why haven't more Republicans pushed for it?
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1) The public school system, flawed as it is, also has the purpose of "socializing" the child. Vouchering only helps to splinter our country more, thus any system for vouchering should require that the target schools attempt to have a mixed membership, and that they also educate their students in the society.
2) Any Tax deduction rewards the richer, so if there is to be some transfer to the people who pay for private schools it probably should be a partial rebate rather than a deduction.
The previous comment noted that the rich would be the ones getting the tax break if we make private schooling tax-deductible, causing a loss in revenue....BUT why not make the rich an exception to this?
Also, bear in mind that private schools are much better than public schools as they involve better decorum in the classroom. And that's something the government should support.