By LEE N. HOWELL
Politically Speaking

One of the strengths of our constitutional system of federalism is that the states can often serve as laboratories for new ideas which eventually become national initiatives.

We have seen this over and over.

The vote for women, the minimum wage, even social security and universal health insurance — all these were ideas which were tried out in one state or the other and then adopted at the federal level.

Today, the major candidates for president have discovered another “new” idea which was pioneered by an experiment in one of the states.

That new idea is pre-school education — and it was first implemented right here in Georgia by Gov. Zell Miller, thanks to the success of the Georgia Lottery.

(Since the major beneficiaries of this head start which 4-year-olds receive in local pre-kindergarten programs have been the often disadvantaged kids of poor and near-poor families, many straight-laced, middle-class folks think it is appropriate that the Georgia efforts have been funded by a gambling operation which preys so heavily upon those very families.)

However it was funded, though, the idea has been proven to be the right one for preparing 4-year-old students to enter kindergarten and giving them a strong foothold on the educational ladder for first grade and beyond.

And, it is good to see the major candidates for president begin discussing the need for such an effort on the national level.

Now, as a recent editorial in USA Today pointed out, “not so long ago, there was a better chance of seeing pigs fly than hearing presidential candidates debate pre-school.”

“Well, pigs are flying this year,” the editorial continues, “(because) both parties' frontrunners are talking about non-voters barely out of diapers.”

(That editorial also gives credit where credit is due and points out that “Georgia faced up to its responsibilities (and) led the way.”)

Nationally, there are more than 4 million pre-schoolers in the several states in our union, so Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Albert Gore are not talking about a small financial investment.

(As is usually the case, Republican Bush is promoting a much stingier version of the effort — with a price tag much lower than the $50 billion Democrat Gore has earmarked; but, even he is suggesting changes in current anti-poverty programming which would end up being a multi-million dollar effort.)

With both major current frontrunners talking about this effort, it is likely that the topic of pre-school will soon end up on some president's agenda.

However, it will still be years before a national pre-school program can be begun — and then they will be pilots which must be evaluated before a national effort really begins.

And, that means that many of those pre-schoolers who could benefit now from such a program in their local school will still miss out on the opportunity offered in such an endeavor.

Since the professional analysts in all the state departments of education across the country have seen the same data about early brain development — and most researchers now agree that a child's brain reaches 90 percent of its adult size by age 3 — it is a shame that there are not more state political leaders with the foresight of former Gov. Miller and others here in Georgia who took the lead in establishing a statewide pre-kindergarten program.

In years gone by, Georgia has not always been such a forward-looking leader in terms of new public programs to social or community development.

(For instance, Georgia did not officially adopt the U.S. constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote until just a few years ago when it was little more than a symbolic act anyway!)

But, when our state does something right, it is nice to see it recognized by others.

Let's just hope our leaders will continue to look ahead, consider other experimental ideas to improve the quality of life, and not allow their good intentions to be black-balled by all those negative, Neanderthal nay-sayers out there.

[Lee N. Howell is an award-winning writer who has been observing and commenting upon politics and society in the Southern Crescent, the state, and nation for more than a quarter of a century.]

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