A bill has been introduced in the Senate that would provide tax credits for homeschoolers. All homeschoolers who value their freedom should get on the phone with their senators and let them know that we are not interested in this kind of "help" from the government.
Jenn (whom I do not know) explains why very clearly. Here's an excerpt from her blog:
If we advocate for tax credits--beneficial as that money would be, as much of a right to that money as we have--we will essentially be inviting the federal government to notice us. To define us. To monitor us. To calculate us. To nickel and dime us. To determine us. This is an invitation that we cannot rescind. It's a way into our lives--a door, if you will. And once it is opened, it will never be closed--not by us and certainly not by them. It will only open wider and wider and our freedom will shrink ever smaller. And we will have invited this.
Besides the pigeon-holing of homeschoolers, the reporting requirements, and the invitation of the government further into our lives, there's another aspect to this legislation that people often do not realize. In high-school civics class, we learn how a bill becomes law. It all sounds so clear-cut. But when you get to politics in Real Life, bills coming out of committee often look quite different from the bills that went into committee.
There's also the record-keeping for taking tax deductions, and the government's prerogative to determine which expenses are allowable. Do we expect the government to pay for (that is, allow us a credit for) Bibles and hymnals used in our homeschooling? Do we expect them to allow the deduction of history or science materials that integrate Christianity in the textbooks? What about swimming lessons? Would it be fair for me to deduct my kids' swimming lessons (or piano or judo or theatre) when my brother's family cannot deduct those things? For those of us who use all of life to educate our children (like, say, daily Sudoku puzzles for a child) do we really want the loss of freedom that would result from the government deciding which expenses are legitimate homeschooling expenses and which are not? Might this even result in subtle pressure for homeschools to become more like conventional schools?
You really should go read Jenn's article. It explains this much better than I do and more rationally.
Hat tip: Jane.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It's an interesting point. Counter to that would be, I choose to homeschool my child, why should I also continue to pay for everyone else's public school?
ReplyDeleteThe Ohio Autism scholarship works in a middle of the road way. You don't put your kid in the school district's school, you get X dollars. It's not perfect because the school district still gets money even though it doesn't teach your kid, but the government control is only limited to who can cash the autism scholarship check.
Dan, schools do not run on a user-pay scheme in this country. People with no children pay for the schools. People whose children are grown pay for the schools. People with 10 kids pay the same as people with 2. If I choose to homeschool my child, why should that relieve me of the responsibility that the govt has declared we all owe to the "general welfare"? Now, that does not mean I'm in favor of taxes for schools. I think the schools should be privatized completely and that everyone should be responsible for paying for their own children's education. I think there should be no public school system, and nobody being taxed for it. But that's not the way we do it.
ReplyDeleteBesides, govt money ALWAYS comes with a catch, with a string attached. We're going to be stuck with the loss of freedoms we already have and the govt handouts that accompany them. But I don't want to branch out into new areas.
Thanks for the link to Jenn's piece. I love it when other people write the things I'd like to say. Saves me some time!
ReplyDeleteSusan, you and I are on the same page here. The government never collecting the money from you is always superior than government collecting money from you and giving some of it back. The privacy angle is just another reason.
ReplyDelete