While I can nit-pick about whether the public currently subsidizes religious schools (by vouchers, not to mention tax abatements, etc.), I think my bigger problem is the fundamental misunderstanding of the term "public."
If I don't use the public park, do I get a tax break?
If I don't drive on the public streets very much, do I get a tax break?
If I don't ever call the police, do I get a tax break?
If I don't have children, period, do I get a tax break?
The answer to all four of those questions is a resounding NO. Why should I get a tax break if I don't use the park. It's still there for me, and the choice not to use it is mine. I would say the same thing as to the public streets. Just because I don't drive on them (and no, they're not funded entirely by gasoline taxes, and even if they were, I still buy gasoline for my lawnmower) doesn't mean that I'm not on the hook to pay for them.
Why do people continually view education so differently from public safety?
For the record, I've never, in my entire life, required the services (to take a few random examples) of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, the IN Office of Tourism Development, or the IN Dept. of Veterans Affairs, yet I still get to pay taxes to support their budgets, don't I? Why do people rail on and on about public schools yet utterly forget about essentially everything else that our government does?
If I want to protect my own home with a .45 magnum, can I just buy one, show my proof of purchase to the state and federal governments, and get my tax money refunded that would otherwise support the military and the police? For some reason, I doubt it.
Yes I do agree with you . I remember when my husband and I made the choice to send our child to St Chris school instead of Speedway , after trying kindergarten out at Speedway .... and seeing how awfully misbehaved the children were and how the public school teachers were not allowed to try and enforce rules .... there were many parents at St Chris trying to get the voucher program to include parochial schools . We never really got on that band wagon . I guess somehow it got passed to include parochial schools .
ReplyDeleteBest choice we ever made .... paying for our child’s education .
Among other great things about Catholic schools is , teaching children there are rules in society , and consequences if you do not follow them .
Cannot comment on the Roncolli incident most recently in the news , looks like because that teacher’s family went to Roncolli and her father “ participates in the senior retreats “ , maybe Roncolli administration was looking the other way , and someone or some people did not like that .
It happens .