Editor's Note: Kawika Vellalos is a young man currently interning at Americans for Tax Reform. GRIH is proud to subsidize his rent for the three months he will be in Washington, D.C.

Free markets, free workers, anti-taxes – for a conservative college graduate like myself, working for the Americans for Tax Reform is a great fit. Interning at ATR under Brian Johnson, who is a Federal Relations Manager for ATR and the Executive Director of the Alliance for Worker Freedom, has given me the opportunity to attend events at the House and Senate office buildings, take notes at meetings, and meet world-renowned academics, writers, politicians, and activists. I sat four chairs away from Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate for President, as he appealed for support from a room of conservatives. I wrote a “Myth & Facts” guide on prevailing wages which was published on the Alliance for Worker Freedom’s website (workerfreedom.org), and I am currently working on writing ATR’s official policy statement on school choice, in which I argue that states should implement statewide vouchers. After I finish the policy brief (hopefully this week) it will be edited and if approved, bound and published for distribution.

Education is important to this country. Most states have enshrined in their constitutions a compulsory education mandate. But the common method of requiring students to attend the public school nearest their home (if they aren’t homeschooled or don’t attend a private school) has failed. With graduation rates of minorities who make it to 9th grade hovering around 50 percent despite the skyrocketing price of average per-pupil public spending, something is clearly amiss. How can states keep spending $8000 or more on average per student, while private schools only spend $4000 on average, and not see a dramatic advantage over the private school students? The answer has to do with monopoly, bureaucracy, and incentives via competition.

Public schools have an essential monopoly on local education. The students who attend public school generally don’t have access to alternative educational options. This means that public schools have no incentive to provide a better education because nothing naturally happens to that school when it fails to improve. Purely altruistic motivations don’t create the real incentive that the risk a job loss would provide to a teacher, or school board, or principal. In other words, if schools would lose funding or if teachers were fired for lack of quality as measured by market standards, then schools would have a huge incentive to provide a better education. This is what private schools do. Lots of studies have been conducted using the best scientific method available – random assignment – and they consistently conclude that vouchers are correlative to an improvement in both school quality and student performance. As I continue to research and collect data, I am increasingly convinced that education needs to be infused with competition because that is the best way to achieve the real results that benefit students.

This internship is a great way for me to develop my critical thinking and analytical skills in a professional environment located just four blocks from the White House. GRIH’s generosity is a huge blessing and I am very lucky to live in Alexandria, VA (just a short bus and metro trip away from my office). Last week a fellow intern and I delivered the 2007 Index of Worker Freedom to every senator’s office, and previously to most congressmembers’ offices.

In the fall, my boss (Brian) wants an intern who would essentially be co-authoring the 2008 Index of Worker Freedom. That project would be great for an aspiring economist, politician, or just a student who wants to impact the country.

The work we do actually influences our government, and I am proud to be a part of this project in freedom. GRIH’s generosity makes all of this possible. Thank you so much! I am very grateful for your investment in me, and I look forward to the day that I repay you by fighting for limited government and open markets.

Kawika Vellalos is a 2008 graduate of Patrick Henry College in Virginia and was homeschooled in Hawaii.