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From: kurtzman@uscvax.UUCP (Stephen Kurtzman)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.religion
Subject: Re: "Secular Humanism" banned in the US Schools.
Message-ID: <1093@uscvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Sep-85 13:57:16 EDT
Article-I.D.: uscvax.1093
Posted: Fri Sep 20 13:57:16 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 25-Sep-85 10:28:06 EDT
References: <1072@ulysses.UUCP> <607@hou2g.UUCP> <5847@cbscc.UUCP> <673@utastro.UUCP> <5878@cbscc.UUCP> <10395@ucbvax.ARPA>
Organization: CS&CE Depts, U.S.C., Los Angeles, CA
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Xref: linus net.politics:10453 net.religion:7336

> In article <5878@cbscc.UUCP> pmd@cbscc.UUCP (Paul Dubuc) writes:
> >In article <673@utastro.UUCP> padraig@utastro.UUCP (Padraig Houlahan) writes:
> >>
> >>I thought religions were already being helped financially - don't
> >>they get tax breaks?
> >
> >This is really irrelevant to the issue at hand since public schools
> >don't pay taxes either.  Private schools have to charge tuition.
> >Parents paying this tuition must also pay taxes to support the public
> >schools.  (This is the argument for tuition tax credits.)
> 
> And I suppose we should give rebates to people who don't have children
> at all, since they are taxed for a service they don't receive?  If not,
> why not?
> 
> Of course, I have a reason myself why I think why not.  I think that
> society at large gets real, substantial benefits from a generally
> educated citizenry.  Public school taxes make this benefit possible,
> and thus are payed for the same reason you pay other taxes -- because
> society at large, and thus you, (allegedly) benefit from the service,
> and it could not be efficiently or properly provided any other way.
> The fact that someone might have children they choose to educate some
> other way is just as irrelevant to this as someone who has no
> children.
> 
> If this isn't your reasoning, what is?  Why not give rebates to the
> childless?
> 		Ken Arnold

I agree with Ken Arnold. But it should be further noted that our form
of government is not viable without an educated citizenry. People must
be educated so that they can exercise their franchise to vote in a
meaningful way. It is not a coincidence that some of our founding fathers
were also known as great educators. 


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