Other Reasons to Pay for Public Education

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On the homepage, you may or may not have noticed Ernest Partridge's commentary on why schools SHOULD be paid for by even those without school age children. All his reasons are good but here are some more:

1. To say "I don't have kids in school, so why should I pay for it" may be popular amongst conservatives and libertarians, but they should see how slippery is the slope of their argument. Can I say that since I'm in Iowa that I need not pay for a coast guard? Do I need a border patrol? That sounds like more of an "Arizona thing." I'm also upset with some of our military actions overseas. May I reduce my taxes accordingly? This could be said about so many of our government expenditures.

2. I pay for your church--even though I don't go there. Churches are exempt from property taxes--as if it were a public building. Can I form "Ted's Church of the Very Bright Light" (pardon the "Kids in the Hall" reference) and receive tax exempt status?

3. Our national strength and economic power requires an educated work force. Okay, Mr. Partridge made this argument but it must be made again. Contrary to the MSM reports, schools are actually doing quite well considering the challenges they face. Poor and hungry students show up at school and they're educated. Students with English as a second language receive education. We even educate students with disabilities and include their test scores in the general population. Before you buy the propaganda, take a good look at your schools--and if they're bad, get involved.

These are just a few more reasons. What else ya got? Schools are already targeted by the interests of the Right. Stand up for them.

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1. So the kids won't turn into criminals and rob you.

And I am dead serious about this one. I am happy to pay to educate ALL the children of this society so that they can all succeed and contribute to society, because if they don't, they will turn into criminals and cost me much more than it cost to educate them.

Hopelessness turns people into desperados. Thats not just some quaint term from old western movies, it refers to people who are living a dead end life, with no hope of success or advancement. Such people have no reason not to turn to a life of crime; they commit desperate acts.

Go look at third world countries where the great mass of the people are desperately poor and the rich live in walled enclaves to protect themselves from the desperate people around them.

Those Rand followers and libertarians and free marketers who think it should be "everyone for himself" should go and observe what their selfish ideas lead to. The world is a laboratory, and the various theories have been tried in various countries, go and show me how selfishness produces a society anyone would want to live in. Its never happened.

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2. Yes, there is a subtle encouragement of support for democratic

action and the appreciation for associated living. I would argue that bad schools are more likely to turn out criminals--and I don't mean bad test scores. I mean those that try to support the worst aspects of larger institutions--in groups and out groups, favorable treatment, etc.