We released Freedom Budget 2007, an alternative budget proposal for the next two years, last week.
It generated an immediate response from another Raleigh group that was factually wrong and missed the point besides. (Max Borders explains the second part.)
Rob Schofield provided a longer response Thursday. Schofield did better on the facts, although he still claims my proposal would eliminate funding teacher assistants. More worthwhile, he actually offers a philosophical critique with the question: “Do modern Americans and North Carolinians ? particularly those enjoying unprecedented wealth and prosperity ? have a responsibility to the common good?”
His assumption is that the only responsibility each of us as citizens has is to pay our taxes and let politicians and bureaucrats decide what to do with our money. This become explicit with his complaint about “the absurd notion that a poor family is ‘freer’ if it receives a tax credit for education or child care or health care rather than the actual service itself!” As if people actually are able to receive the service and would choose the government-provided service if they had alternatives.
In short, Schofield is asking once again the old question about collectivism or liberty?
