Do trickle-down economic theories work?

[LeafByNiggle]

I would venture that the benefit of education primarily accrues to those being educated.

At least we agree that the parents are not the primary beneficiaries.

But this brings up another question: If primary school benefits society as a whole then why does the government only subsidize schools that it itself administers? Why does it not also subsidize private and parochial schools? Also, why does it not let people choose what school they want to go to? In my opinion, government is too involved in education and it has resulted in poor schools with low quality of education. Government obligation to education should end with subsidization, I see no reason why they should also administer the school and choose what school that people have to go to. That is why I am a fan of school vouchers and programs like it.

Once again these ideas are good in principle. But you cannot have subsidization without some measure of oversight, just to make sure you are subsidizing education and not something else that is calling itself education. I don’t know if you would call that “administration” or not. But that level of involvement - the setting of standards of what qualifies as education - does seem appropriate for government. You wouldn’t want your tax money to go to a “school” that indoctrinates kids into Jihad against the West, would you?

 

[on_the_hill]

You don’t need a public park to spend time outdoors, get fresh air and sunshine, etc And it would seem that people disagree with you. Studies have shown that people prefer user fees and sales taxes to property taxes.

Aside from public parks, what resources are there for people to run around, play games, play basketball, softball, baseball, fly a kite, congregate, peaceably assemble, etc?

You know that sales taxes and user fees are regressive. Who were the respondents of the surveys? I would venture that someone of limited financial means living in an apartment building would have a different perspective from someone with more disposable income living in a single family dwelling with a yard.

 

[on_the_hill]

But you cannot have subsidization without some measure of oversight, just to make sure you are subsidizing education and not something else that is calling itself education.

Exactly. Interestingly, it seems that (fiscal) Conservatives are pushing for increasingly strict government oversight of public education, while at the same time decry the incursion of government policies into local education. Can’t be both ways. You can’t enforce standards to ensure tax dollars are being spent appropriately without having the government dictate the standards.

And when academic outcomes become the measuring stick for funding, in systems wherein high performing schools are rewarded and low performing schools are penalized, the lower performing schools fall into death spirals.

The cynic in me sees the whole linkage between standards-based education and school funding as a mechanism moving against teachers’ unions.

On the other hand, when Mark Zuckerberg dumped millions and millions ($120 million?) into a New Jersey school district and a couple years later the money is all but gone with nothing to show for it, there’s gotta be some accountability.

Bottom line: decades of increasing funding for public education didn’t resolve the problems faced by public schools. The more recent austerity budgets that squelched public school spending didn’t resolve the problems either. At least in my state.

 

[freeRadical]

You know that sales taxes and user fees are regressive. Who were the respondents of the surveys? I would venture that someone of limited financial means living in an apartment building would have a different perspective from someone with more disposable income living in a single family dwelling with a yard.

And you don’t think property taxes aren’t regressive? I will find the study and post it and you can read it for yourself.

Why do you assume that someone living in an a house has more disposable income then someone living in a apartment?