[geeks] geeks Digest, Vol 86, Issue 11

[Jonathan Patschke]

On Wed, 20 Jan 2010, Lionel Peterson wrote:

>> Whomever is running the charity.
>
> Aside from the ability to opt-out, how is this different from a public
> school system?

That is the fundamental difference.  Plus, the possibility for a
plurality.

Like I've said before, if your local public school system is awful, what
can you do about it?  Even if you send your kid to a different school,
you're still stuck with funding the awful school.  If a local charity is
known for pocketing most of the money or providing awful service, people
will quit giving to it!

The guaranteed income gives the public school system no incentive to spend
wisely[0], and no incentive to provide a good service.  The only threat
they have is to perform so badly that the state shuts them down.  And,
what happens when the state does?

         http://www.austinschools.org/campus/eastsidememorial/main/

"Eastside Memorial" as formerly known as "Johnston High School" had a 68%
graduation rate.  After 5 consecutive years of of being "academically
unacceptable" even by the state's lax standards, shutting down the school
consisted of closing it for a school year and re-opening it as that
extremely expensive facility.

Only in government (which guarantees funding by threatening people and
their homes) can you do worse and demand more money as a reward for it.

> I provide for my sons education outside the public school district, and
> I support the education of my neighbor's children through my tax
> dollars...
>
> An optional tax/charitable donation would *likely* result in
> insufficient funds for the proper education of those with the greatest
> needs.

Really?  Maybe the school would waste less money: build fewer sports
stadiums, pay their non-educating bureaucrats less money, etc.

> I've mentioned before the student that almost moved into my district -
> this child had needs so profound that his education would cost whatever
> district he lives in $250,000/year

Why does it cost $250,000/year?  That would fund five full-time employees
or four full-time employees and a tremendous amount of equipment.

> Trust me, I'm all for lowering my property taxes, but the truth is my son's 
> tuition costs more than I pay in property taxes... Public education is a 
> bargain for parents of school-age children at the expense of those without 
> school-age children.

Theft is always a great bargain for the people who get the spoils, at the
expense of the robbed.  Where's the big surprise there?


[0] You know how it is in government organizations.  Spend all your budget
     to ensure you get as much or more next year!  At least in Texas, most
     agencies and schools are -prohibited- from saving money to anticipate
     dips in tax revenue.
-- 
Jonathan Patschke  ) "Science is what we understand well enough to explain
Elgin, TX         (   to a computer.  Art is everything else we do."
USA                )                                    --Dr. Donald Knuth