The Stilt Engineer: my argument against private school vouchers

[Bucky]

I know vouchers are popular with white middle-class people. But the idea comes from a misapprehension of what public education is for.

Let me offer this analogy. Imagine we all lived on a floodplain and it was necessary for the community to build a canal and some overflow reservoirs to protect our homes from annual flooding. It costs a lot of money to hire those workers and machinery, so we levy a tax to pay for it.

Then one person comes along and says, "I know how to build my house up on stilts so that the flooding won't hurt my family home"

That's a great solution for that one family. But then that person says, "So I want a voucher to reduce the amount of taxes I pay for building the canal and flood reservoirs."

Well that's not fair at all. This stilt engineer is imagining he can void the social contract because the next flood won't directly endanger him. The stilt engineer is ignoring the social costs of having an inadequately funded flooding reservoir system.

See, if the reservoir isn't fully paid for, then there'll still be flooded homes, or the social costs of flooded farms and businesses and road systems. Or, if somehow the reservoir is fully built, this stilt engineer is going to enjoy the benefits of living in a community that doesn't have flooded farms, flooded roads, and flooded neighbors. And if he does enjoy the benefits of living in that society, as a citizen he has an obligation (social contract) to pay his fair share for the engineering projects that make his life better.

Besides, if his stilt project fails, he'll still have the reservoir system around to protect his home.

[CrispyQ]

1. The only time repubs favor a Community Chest is when it's full & ripe for raiding.

One of the most successful marketing campaigns of all time was the repub party convincing so many Americans to resent paying taxes.

[Phoenix61]

3. While at the same time convincing them that

lowering taxes on the wealthy and business would create more wealth for them.

[SWBTATTReg]

2. Why don't they pay damn taxes before they start ranting and raving about getting vouchers and other

government paid subsidies? And by the way, vouchers are NOT popular w/ middle class 'people' ... I'm one of them and I don't think vouchers work, period. A bad idea. Especially when these same vouchers are used for private schools that don't pay one damn cent in taxes.

I paid the taxes that were used to build the schools (public), pay the teachers, buy the school buses, pay the drivers, pay the utility bills, build the roads (used by both public and private schools), police and fire protection (used by both private and public schools) etc., and now you want to inflict yet more harm/damage to me, by making me pay for somebody's voucher when they should pay their fair share.

It's only fair to the rest of us. I'm getting tired of paying someone else's way. Isn't time that they go above and beyond, and figure out a way to pay for their things and not rely on others to pay their way? Even the lunches at schools are subsidized and are not priced at what they should be (priced at a fraction of what the meals actually cost). Especially after I get only 45%-55% of my paycheck after taxes already.

[MyOwnPeace]

4. So, let's say he DOES get his "voucher."

And because of a shortage of funds, the canal doesn't work like planned and the community gets flooded again!
And, amazingly enough, the "voucher man's house" catches on fire because of a problem from the flood waters.
He's begging and pleading for the firemen to show up - but they can't.
You see, they live in flooded houses and the fire hall is under water.

You can't "pick and choose" what services you want and don't want if you choose to be a good citizen in a community.

[CrispyQ]

5. The churches. Let's forgive them.

[JHB]

6. The stilt engineer also assumes that all he needs is stilts...

Last edited Sat Jul 18, 2020, 05:33 PM - Edit history (1)

...ignoring the possibility that flood debris (like, say, a house that wasn't on stilts being washed into his) may break those stilts, or that the floodwaters might undermine the whole foundation.

So he wants the benefits of the project, but has a figleaf excuse for skipping out on the bill.


Schools are infrastructure, just as much as roads and bridges.

[crickets]

7. THIS - "Schools are infrastructure, just as much as roads and bridges."

Education is a vital part of societal infrastructure, one which benefits all, should be available to all, and should be shouldered by all of us.