Parents are Taxpayers Too

Critics of school choice programs often argue that taxpayer money shouldn’t be used for private schooling. Such arguments evade the fact that parents are taxpayers too. Taxpayer money does not magically appear in government coffers. It is money that has been taken from individuals and businesses. It is money taken from parents and non-parents alike. That money is then used for purposes that those taxpayers may or may not agree with, including government schools.

Underlying this argument is the premise that an individual’s money is not his to use and spend as he chooses. Instead, that money belongs to the government, which may take as much as it chooses and use that money for any purpose it deems appropriate.

School choice programs empower parents with a little more control over how their money is spent.

Opponents of school choice programs don’t want parents to be empowered. The opponents don’t want to enable parents to choose how and where their children are educated. In contrast, they want to prohibit freedom of choice and financially disable parents. The opponents want to force parents to financially support government schools, no matter the parent’s values, needs, and desires.

The defenders of government schools don’t want the individuals who have earned the money to have a choice about its use and disposal. They want government officials to make such choices.

If we want to make good decisions regarding school choice or any other policy, then we must consider the full context. Doing so requires intellectual precision. Evading the fact that parents are taxpayers too is neither precise nor intellectually honest.