Posted on 01/13/2005 11:09:39 AM PST by hsmomx3
US Airways has announced a new pricing policy. Instead of letting customers know how much the airfare is for a flight, US Airways is going to start letting them know what the airline spends per seat.
At a press conference to announce the new pricing, a US Airways spokesperson said, "Customers don't care about what they pay; they care about what it costs us to run this airline. The higher our per-seat costs, the more value our customers believe they are getting."
Just kidding. The above is not a new pricing scheme by US Airways. It is an old scheme that is foisted on the public by the public education establishment.
Parents have been led to believe that per-pupil spending, or the cost of running schools, is the way to measure the value of a public education. The higher the per-pupil spending, the better the education -- or so the convoluted thinking goes. That's like saying that US Airways is a better airline because it spends more per customer than Southwest Airlines.
The thinking is so convoluted when it comes to public education that parents don't even know, and don't even ask, what they pay in taxes for public schools. Yet that hasn't stopped them from saying that government schools should spend more per child.
Imagine if the public demanded that airlines operate the same way:
Customer: "How much will it cost you to fly me from Phoenix to Philadelphia?"
Southwest Ticket Agent: "$600."
Customer: "That's all? I can get a better deal at US Airways. They'll spend $800 to fly me to Philadelphia and then spend even more trying to find my lost luggage."
Southwest Ticket Agent: "I'm sorry, but because we're more efficient, we spend only 75 percent of what US Airways spends per seat."
Customer: "Yeah, you cheapskates. If you cared about your customers, you'd raise your per-seat cost."
Southwest Ticket Agent: "Don't you want to know how much a ticket will cost you? We can beat US Airway's price."
Customer: "No, I don't care what I pay. I only care about how much you spend per seat."
Silly, eh? Yeah, but if it's so silly, then why do parents gauge public schools by per-pupil spending and not by what they pay in education taxes? The answer is that politicians, the press and the public education establishment give figures on the former but not the latter.
According to my research, taxpayers pay a staggering sum. For example, in my home state of Arizona, the heads of the average household will pay approximately $190,000 in education taxes over their adult lives.
The situation is completely reversed in private schools. There, parents know exactly what they pay in private tuition but have no idea what their kids' school spends per child. For example, I know that my wife and I pay $405 per month for our son's tuition and bus fare at his Catholic elementary school. I also know that by the time he finishes Catholic high school, we will have spent approximately $60,000 on his education, or about one-third of what we will pay in public ed taxes over our adult lives. I do not know, however, how much the Phoenix Diocese spends per student -- nor does it matter to me. What matters to me is whether our son is getting a good education for the money.
How can public school parents know if their kids are getting a good education for the money if they don't know how much they pay in education taxes? They can't. Then why do they keep clamoring for more public ed spending? Beats me, but US Airways would love to have them as customers. __________
Mr. Cantoni is an author, columnist and consultant. He can be reached at ccan2@aol.com.
That was funny!
I can't make heads or tails of this.
Prolly cuz I went to publik skool.
< |:)~
Southwest is starting service to the 'burgh soon... heard it on a flight back from Orlando yesterday.
I don't know about Arizona but here in Buffalo I know exactly what I pay for school taxes because they send me a bill each year. I had the "privledge" of paying both Catholic school tuition and publik skool taxes for my son's 12 years of secondary education. I have always thought that I should have gotten a credit on my school tax for sending my son to parochial schools.
AWWWW YEAH BABY -- 'Burghers are psyched, 'cuz it means (finally!) a drop in airfare prices.
Yes, it looks like we won't have to drive to Columbus to catch an affordable flight!
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