July 31, 2008 at 5:04 am
Jeff, you pay school taxes? I thought schools just magically appeared and the other guy paid for them. After all, that's what government is for - to provide lots of goodies to me for free:)
Perhaps I should have clarified that students and their families are not responsible for paying school fees due to the generosity of their fellow citizens who happily provide a portion of their hard earned wages to fund universal education. School taxes make up more than half of the tax bill fo rmy house in Houston. Despite that, we will end up paying for private school for our son, as the neighborhhod schools are less than stellar.
July 31, 2008 at 6:30 am
Ok, more education needed. What is a council house and why does that have negative connotations? Also, what is a ladette?
July 31, 2008 at 6:43 am
Council House - house provided by the local council, the name for UK local government. Bad connotation because it's a welfare benefit. There are many families in the UK living in council housing where two or more generations have never worked due to generous social benefits. It's creating a culture of folks who have no desire to work or add value to society.
Here's a reference for ladette http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladette
July 31, 2008 at 6:57 am
Ok, thanks RM...that helped!
I guess the equivalent here for a Council House would be Section 8 housing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_8_(housing). In the town where I live, there are large apartment complexes (mostly in minority areas) subsidized by the government as well...we just call it welfare housing.
As far as Lads and Ladettes...the equivalent of a lad here might be someone with a 'jock' mentality or maybe a playboy? Not sure what a Ladette here would be called, maybe a Riot Grrl, or just a tomboy? Come on, fellow Yanks, help me out here.
July 31, 2008 at 8:25 am
Council housing is not a welfare benefit. It is council owned rented accomodation. Many people in council housing work and pay rent. You are talking about those who don't work, and get their rent paid for them, by the state.
Be careful tarring everyone with the same brush.
August 2, 2008 at 9:06 am
School's certainly not free, though it is cheap in the US. More and more expenses are covered by parents all the time, as school systems provide less and less.
Not sure if they're not run well, not budgeted properly, or the funding doesn't get to them, but I seem to wind up covering more expenses all the times for school.
Country and government is a social construct. We bind together, and provide assistance for others for the common good. We are promoting general welfare, meaning helping hands at times. Not to get too political, but while I think everyone should work if they are able and provide some of their own support, I'm not going to cry about them needing some from the government at times.
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August 4, 2008 at 1:43 am
I agree with Steve, I think it's called collective responsibility. You wouldn't believe the number of people who whinge about why should their taxes pay for education, when they haven't got any kids of their own.
It sounds as if the UK and US school structure is about the same - funded by the taxpayer, but generally underfunded, so parents have to supplement all sorts of things along the way.
Also, I keep a cheque bok specifically for school stuff, as there are always things to pay for! Uniforms (compulsary in England) can be devilishly expensive.
August 5, 2008 at 3:53 am
Good point Rootman about Council Houses, thanks. Also worth noting that many, many Councils in the UK have "sold off" their stock of Council Houses, either to the people living in them (the tenants could buy them quite cheaply), or to a separate Company/Charity/Housing Association.
Anyone can claim housing benefit; even someone living in a large, detached 5-bedroom house can claim housing benefit and have their mortgage paid for by Social Security (which I think you call Welfare in the US). So I agree, please don't assume that someone living in a Council House/Housing Association accomodation, is "sponging" off the State.
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