Viewpoint: Writer takes issue with taxes for education described as theft
Editor:
This letter is addressed to Dr. Marlan Beilke regarding his blind claim that taxation as a whole, and especially that of property owners to fund local schools, is theft. This letter was clearly fostered by a fundamental lack of understanding of economics (and grammar apparently as well).
Our school district’s “minion’s” did inform the people of this community that their taxes may be raised substantially; however, it was understood that this increase would be used to maintain our district’s tradition of excellence. The community displayed its value in education and was able to comprehend the long term investment that their raised taxes would represent as the referendum was passed by a landslide. You, on the other hand, clearly do not possess these same values nor are you able to comprehend this investment. You seem beside yourself that you have to pay $10.26 per day to live in a house that you own to fund these schools. Isn’t it worth every penny to open doors for students to live prosperous and contributing lives in our society? Clearly, though, due to an unwillingness to pay extra in taxes, you prefer the alternative, which is a substandard level of education that leaves kids ill prepared for the future and thus allowing them to become burdens on our nation, both socially and economically. Eschewing this referendum would have left our curriculum decimated, therefore effectuating the aforementioned alternative.
I also ask where you received your education; whether it be in a private or public institution, taxpayer dollars did assist you in earning the title that precedes your name. You also say that children will never be able to do what you have been able to do in owning a home. Perhaps that’s because there is a myriad of individuals in modern America that are unwilling to support the next generation through school funding. Even Henry David Thoreau would be willing to pay taxes to support our children, i.e. the future of this great nation. Taxes are what give the American people the power to have a say in our nation. Taxes are not theft, they are an interwoven part of “We the People”.
Lukas Kreger, Rhinelander High School Senior
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