I personally don't believe that government money should be paying private school tuition outright because once you do that, you give the government cause to interfere in the affairs in the school, and the primary reason that I shelled out all that money for private schools over the years is that I didn't want my kids in crappy government schools.
Now, we're not exactly hurting for money, but in many of the Catholic schools here, you'll see people drive up in 15 year old cars, many families struggling, etc. These people have all made a cognizant decision that creature comforts are not as important as a good education for their children and are willing to sacrifice for it.
I think you're both right. You guys are on the same wavelength today.
I agree with you. I find it interesting that so many conservatives, who would otherwise abhor government subsidies for "personal decisions", endorse it in this case.
In my simpleton mind I have always thought that taxes for school were taken from the taxpayer to fund their children's education in a public school.
So in my simpleton way of thinking, parents that decide to educate their children at home or send them to a private school should be able to keep that portion of their payable taxes for education.
So in my simpleton opinion I can't see how it is that the government is paying for private school, rather they are allowing parents a choice on what to do with their own money.
Of course there are children with parents who are unable to pay and so there are education expenses that must be picked up by general taxes. I guess that's why they are called vouchers, to give all children a financial foundation for an education.
IMHSO (In My Humble Simpleton Opinion)
The government is not paying for private school tuition, it is giving the parents vouchers that they can spend at the school of their choice.
Your arguement is no different than saying people can't spend their tax refunds on certain things.
You are right. The court decision seems to be based on the funding of the vouchers. Gov't money always has conditions connected to it. Once you accept these conditions ( no matter how reasonable they may be) you give up some of your freedom.
I like the idea of vouchers but how to fund them is problematic.
Then let us keep our money to educate our children as we see fit. It infuriates me that my taxes all of the sudden becomes "government money".
The only good thing that makes sense to do is abolish public education entirely.
You also run into a little equal protection problem.