The cost of ‘free’ money
So, what would you do if you received a phone call from someone claiming a way for you to receive “free money”? You’d hang up, knowing full well there is no such thing as “free money” and that the claimant is no doubt a scammer. Better to hang up.
Well, our always smiling U.S. Sen. David McCormick used the “free money” come-on in a recent Inquirer op-ed to call on readers to buy his and his billionaire friends’ nonsense to support so-called school choice in Pennsylvania. “Free”? There’s nothing free about school choice tax credits to be supplied by the so-called Working Families Tax Cut Act. Guess who pays for these “tax credits”? Not billionaires like McCormick. Taxpayers like you and me.
Free money, my foot.
Bryan Miller, Philadelphia
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Sen. Dave McCormick’s claim that the school choice tax credit will improve education while delivering “free money to families” is a con job. While he accurately articulates the downsides of educational inequality and the serious harm done by inadequate schools, the “solution” he’s peddling, a $1,700 tax break for private education, will only make the problem worse, giving families who can afford the $10,000 to $50,000 tuition for private school extra cash while keeping it out of reach for the most vulnerable. The net effect will be removing the least vulnerable from challenged schools while leaving behind those who cannot afford the remaining $8,300 in tuition. If Sen. McCormick really wanted to improve education for all, he’d focus on funding early childhood education and creating policy to attract the best teachers to the most challenging schools, rather than attempting to pass off another tax break as good policy.
Jenny Williams, Havertown
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My siblings and I are products of Catholic schools. Our elementary school was located in a working-class neighborhood of Philadelphia. The classrooms were large, numbering 60 students or so. Books were well-worn and many decades old. The maps on the classroom walls were frayed and outdated, as well, showing countries that no longer existed. And the nuns and young lay teachers who instructed us did not have advanced college degrees other than a bachelor’s degree, I’m sure. These dedicated folks chose to teach in Catholic schools not for money, but out of love for children and the Catholic faith. But in spite of these deficiencies, I received an excellent education that not only emphasized the three R’s, but discipline, love, and charity. And currently, I’m sure conditions are much improved now that tuition is required. When I attended, the parish paid for school expenses; all that was required of the students was to pay a nominal fee — $5 — for use of the textbooks. In the end, my siblings and I went on to college and successful and rewarding careers. My mother and father, having to discontinue their education early — mom in the sixth grade, dad as a junior in high school — to work and help their families during the Great Depression, could not have been more proud to have children who attended college. So please, enough of how more money, smaller class sizes, and better compensated teachers will improve test scores in low-performing, urban public schools. How unfair is it that parents of children in these urban public schools cannot have a portion of their tax dollars refunded to them so they can choose a better option for their children’s education? It’s time for school choice.
Fred Hearn, Turnersville
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