Originally Posted by
Worm
and I largely feel that way about education. I'm glad that my tax contribution gets spent on education, but I don't have kids - I'm just glad that someone else's kids get the opportunity for an education.
Absolutely not. No child should be subjected to the whims of their parents. Not only does that model simply result in education for the rich and neglect for the poor, education can be the springboard to so many other things that should be possible for everyone, not just those that can afford it.
You highlight exactly the objection to school vouchers. Our taxes do not go toward any single student, but pay for the system.
Just to throw out hypothetical numbers: suppose you pay $1000 in taxes to support the school, and the school has 2000 students total. Now, if you don't have any kids in the school, where does that money go to? Certainly not toward the education of any single individual student. Basically, you are paying $.50 toward each student.
That doesn't change when you have kids in the school. Your tax dollars do not only pay for your child, but pay equally for everyone else. So if I also pay $1000 but have a child in the school, that $1000 still does not go toward my own child, it is distributed among all 2000. My child gets 50 cents of it.
Another reason we know that our money does not go toward the education of our child is because you don't pay more if you have more kids. If I have two kids in school, one, or none, I still pay the same tax. I don't have to pay more with more kids. Because I am not paying for my kids' schooling.
So if you want a voucher, I'm happy to give you a voucher for that 50 cents that you are providing to pay for each of your children. But don't you don't get the full value, not at all. The rest of the education is being paid by everyone else, not by you. We aren't just going to give you that money.