Posted on 06/17/2005 7:27:59 PM PDT by Dada Orwell
Freepers: Your thoughts on this?
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From NHfree.com Keene, N.H.; June 15 2005
38-year-old Kat Dillon isn't satisfied she's getting her money's worth from government schools. In fact, she says she isn't getting anything from them at all.
"My child is homeschooled," says Dillon. "She's never gone to public school and never will. I don't get any use out of it, so it's wrong for them to make me pay for it."
To drive her point home, Dillon will appear at Keene City Hall on June 30 with a check for only a fraction of what the city says she and her family owe.
"The part that would have gone to public schools...we're keeping it. It's our money."
After handing over her truncated check, Dillon will lead a protest outside city hall urging others to "recalculate" their taxes as well. She says she has no idea whether her act of noncompliance will inspire anyone else to do the same but that her family will "do this alone if necessary."
Dillon is a longtime opponent of tax-funded schooling, which she considers "education prevention." And she's no stranger to protest. On June 11 her husband Russell Kanning made national news when he chose arrest over compliance with TSA regulations at Manchester Airport. And it was Dillon who received the infamous nail buff from "Outlaw Manicurist" Mike Fisher. In May, Fisher gave her an unlicensed manicure in front of the state licensing board and also went to jail for it.
The soft-spoken computer programmer says she recognizes her act of civil disobedience will probably trigger retaliation, possibly even the loss of her home. "But," she says, "it's the right thing to do."
Summary:
What: Civil disobedience against school property tax How: By handing over a check that does not include the "school portion" of the tax, then leading a protest. Why: "It's my money!" Where: Keene City Hall: 3 Washington St. (at the traffic circle), Keene, NH. When: 10:00 A.M. Thursday, June 30, 2005. Who: Kat Dillon, supporters from NHfree.com, whoever wants to join us.
For more information on the libertarian experiment in New Hampshire, and information on immigrating here for more freedom, visit www.FreeStateProject.org
Damn. This girl's got Moxie!
And, if she continues to refuse to pay all the tax she owes, she will lose her house.
IMO it's high time for a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party. More or less. If tens of thousands, or better yet hundreds of thousands, refused to pay taxes or a good portion of thereof, something might change for the better.
But I don't expect it to happen.
The fedgov and states are bloated like termite queens with spending which is so out of control I don't see any rational cure.
Let's hope that Moxie is her pro bono lawyer.
People who don't have children have to pay school taxes, too, and they don't get anything out of it either.
I can't pick and choose how much of my Federal tax or Massachusetts state tax (I live in NH but work in MA) I am willing to pay. I have to pay it all even if I disagree with how that money is used.
She may lose her house? Good! The Free Staters can move and pull their publicity stunts somewhere else.
Everyone benefits from a well educated society (not that public schools are the answer, but you get the gist) Would she rathter pay for welfare and a lower standard of living? Suck it up, pay your taxes.
My kinda person! :-)
I'm with her all the way... on the school tax issue, anyway.
"Freepers: Your thoughts on this?"
Reimburse taxpayers with an educational tax credit. Vouchers won't do it as it is a wealth redistribution scheme.
Phase out the Education Department.
"People who don't have children have to pay school taxes, too, and they don't get anything out of it either."
Excellent point.
As do many elderly people whose children are long married and paying taxes on their properties.
This is a socialist wealth redistribution.
Exactly! If a couple has children, they should either pay to educate them or educate them themselves.
It doesn't take much money, btw, to homeschool. The whole concept of "school" as a necessity is a sham. Yes, teachers will always be necessary, but not 7 hrs./day, 5 days/week.
Oh no, don't tell me that argument is being made here... on Free Republic. Kids learn, whether they attend school or not. Not only is public school a sham, but school taxes make up the bulk of property taxes (especially where I live in NJ -- where the avg. homeowner's mortgage payments are doubled thanks to astronomical school taxes).
I wouldn't complain if it were less expensive. But, in my town, many were almost driven out of their homes because the taxes were raised so high. It costs $9,000/year to educate a public schooled kid, but it costs about $50/year to home-educate each of mine, and they're above grade level. You've been conned into believing 7 hrs./day, 5 days/week at a school is a necessity.
Moral Absolutes Ping.
Taxation until the host is bled dry. Several interesting comments on the thread.
Schools, IMO, should be 100% locally funded and locally controlled. And NOT funded by mandatory property tax. Locally people can figure out how they want to fund them. The Dept of Edu needs to be erased from the face of the earth, along with a whole bunch of other Depts.
Some people seem to think this woman is grandstanding. Well, maybe she is and maybe she isn't. Maybe she's courageous enough to take a stand for something that, if more people stood up as well, could make a difference for the better.
Freepmail me if you want on/off this pinglist.
Note: The reason I'm including this in "Moral Absolutes" is because schools are currently functioning as hedonis/atheist-securalist/multiculturalist/leftist-socialist/homosexual indoctrination centers. That needs to change, one way or another.
Ain't gonna happen. Muricans are too busy watching reality tv, drinking beer, and watching nascar.
"Ain't gonna happen. Muricans are too busy watching reality tv, drinking beer, and watching nascar."
Kat may give them something new to watch: a seizure of her home, followed by repeated but peaceful attempts to re-occupy it. With any luck it will generate more publicity than the cost of the house would buy.
Actually, they sound like productive citizens. I welcome more of them moving in . I see too many who come here and then whine that every road is not paved; the sidewalks don't have granite curbs; the "special education" is inadequate; the public sector is underpaid; etc. I like the idea of a married couple not on the public payroll looking to be left alone. Keep in mind, given her proximity to Keene, she no doubt is seeing the daily examples of folks at the college who have not done a days work off of the public payroll in their lives.
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