Re: The cost of Jewish communal responsibility

[Marvin Margoshes <physchem...>]

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: glenn tamir 
  To: World music from a Jewish slant 
  Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2003 9:36 AM
  Subject: Re: The cost of Jewish communal responsibility


  It's a cop-out to say that Vouchers would damage the public school system.  
Let's examine the "reality" of the situation:

  1.  My three children are NOT in the public school system.  If they had been, 
surely there would have been a cost involved to educate them.  Therefore, by 
them NOT being there SOME cost savings can be realized anf the school district 
should be able to plan accordingly - especially if they are given advance 
notice.

  The issue then becomes "how much" would be an appropriate amount.  Should it 
be $100.00, $1,000.00 per year?  I don't know.  I do know that given an 
intelligent and un-biased investigation, there must be a way to come to an 
equitable solution.

  <cut>
  I've heard the same argument before, in various forms.  For instance: "I have 
no children in school, so why should I pay school taxes?"

  The public schools are a benefit to society.  What kind of a country would we 
have if only those who could afford tuition went to school?  The problem, in my 
mind, is funding schools mainly out of property taxes.  In theory, the amount 
of property one owns is related to ones income.  But in many cases, it is only 
related to past income.