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From: faustus@ucbcad.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: "Free" education
Message-ID: <8@ucbcad.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 8-Dec-84 01:32:15 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbcad.8
Posted: Sat Dec  8 01:32:15 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 10-Dec-84 01:47:52 EST
References: <733@oliven.UUCP>  <1247@dciem.UUCP> <2631@ihldt.UUCP>
Organization: UC Berkeley CAD Group, Berkeley, CA
Lines: 34

> The question is not whether someone's education is good, but who is
> going to foot the bill.  My wife and I have not had children, in large
> part because we don't think we can afford them.  Please tell me at what
> point I incurred an obligation to pay for other people's children?

Look at it this way -- if it were not for public education, what sort of
society would we have now?  Only those people who are able to afford private
education would have children who could read or write.  One of the
best things about modern Western society is the relative lack of social
classes, and the high social mobility. Do you think that without universal
education this would be at all possible? How would you like to live in
a world polarized into those who are educated and have all the money,
and the poor illiterate masses?

> Foo on your "reason", Mr. Taylor.  This is the "reason" of common
> thieves who would use MY money to finance what THEY want to do.

Since we're name-calling, how about "money-grubbing elitists who care
about only their own well-being and won't begrudge a few dollars to
teach some slum kid to read so he can have a chance at a decent life"?

> HARD QUESTION #49: If what we're worried about is the education of the
>   poor, then why don't we have a system where you pay for it if you can,
>   and only get it free if you can't afford it?  This is what we
>   currently do with court-appointed lawyers.  My guess is that everyone
>   wants a piece of the "free" pie.

That's not far from what things are like now -- those who can afford to
tend to send their kids to private schools, and the public schools are
left with those who can't afford it. The result of this is that the
people in charge find less and less motivation for making sure that
public education is any good, and it goes downhill...

	Wayne