Doesn't the entire population benefit from the free education of its population? What percentage of.lawers, doctors, nurses, engineers, business managers, office workers, network managers, physical therapists, home health care assistants... Were educated in the public school system?
I do think everyone benefits from public education in exactly the same way they benefit from the police department, roads and highways.
You might not drive the road or go.to the school, but it is there, free, and even though you don't use it, the emt that drives to your or your neighbors house more than likely did (what was it, 80% of population went to public schools).
Yes. You benefit. Yes, you pay taxes.
If you want vouchers for school and police and roads, then you should think about what services you use daily (and I will.even stoop to mention the pizza delivery buy and the Target checkout folks) and prepare to avoid their use.
Good luck.
Oh, do we include all the roads built by kids that went to public high schools? I think we should. That would likely eliminate the interstate highway system from your travel.plans.
Not with anger, but with honesty.
I disagree with vouchers for these.reasons and more.
Probably time to leave it alone (which is easy to say, and harder.to do).
Have a good one.
In my opinion these analogies are interesting, but not that good a fit. Even pedestrians benefit from the existence of roads that facilitate commerce, the movement of food, etc. Everyone in the country benefits from the existence of the police force and the attendant decrease in crime.
So: Inventive, yes. Thought-provoking, yes. But no, these cases are not "just like".
KC
-----Original Message-----
From: phys-l-bounces@mail.phys-l.org [mailto:phys-l-bounces@mail.phys-l.org] On Behalf Of Paul Lulai
Sent: Wednesday, 11 July 2012 7:19 PM
To: phys-l@phys-l.org
Subject: Re: [Phys-L] Private schools
If I walk to work do I still have to pay taxes for roads?
If I live in a gated community with its own security, do I still have to pay taxes for police?
Should they all get vouchers? I hope not.
Just like how the people in the above situations still benefit from taxes paid for police & the dept of transportation, so do they benefit from public education. It may not be through direct interaction, but the benefit is there.