Closing Schools Is O.K.

The Denver Public Schools has made the following proposals for the coming academic year:

The schools to be closed:

• Columbian Elementary
• Castro Elementary
• Schmitt Elementary
• International Academy of Denver at Harrington
• Palmer Elementary
• West Middle School
• Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design

The grade-level restructures, impacted schools and grade levels recommended are:

* Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy

Removal of 1st through 5th grades

Becomes 6th through 12th grades only

* Dora Moore ECE-8 School

Removal of grades 6th through 8th

Becomes ECE through 5th grade only

* Denver Center for International Studies Baker Middle School

Removal of 9th through 12th grades

Becomes 6th through 8th grades only

This makes the least sense to me. Where do you go to high school after this, when you've been focusing on learning Chinese for three years?

I'm not sure that every one of those decisions is a good one. But the main source of the differences in economic success between command economies and market economies is that market economies shut down businesses that can't break even for a sustained period of time, while command economies rarely due as a result of political pressure.

Shutting down firms and workplaces and schools that aren't working well enough to make sense, not just in the extremis is what really matters and makes the difference between a healthy economic system and a sick one.