Arne Duncan Sells Pres Obama Preschool Initiative

(Community Matters) In WAPO, an underreported but important new administration initiative, publicly funded preschool for 4 year olds. 

In many ways, it’s hard for politicians to argue against the idea of helping small, wide-eyed children who leap with excitement at the alphabet song. But the dividends that come from preschool investment — higher rates of high school graduation and employment, lower rates of incarceration and teen pregnancy — don’t materialize until years down the line, way past the next election. And the idea of funding preschool by nearly doubling the federal tobacco tax — from $1.01 to $1.95 per pack of cigarettes — is anathema to many Republicans.