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Land of the Free

Aren’t school uniforms expensive these days?
I know, I just paid $170 for an AC/DC ticket. --ZenTiger

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The current lesson we can learn from school is that the government encourages lying. It is clear that “free education” requires a mandatory donation. Students looking for a genuine example of an oxymoron need look no further than “mandatory donation”.

Living in a culture that treats such lies as “the way things are” is ultimately destructive. It’s time for a return to honesty – if schools need the money, then they must henceforth request pledges for “supplementary fees”.

This will clarify the true position of the cost of education; it will mean all parents pay their fair share, rather than bolstering those that rightfully chose not to donate; and we will be contravening the United Nations mandate that countries provide free education to children and teens.

Going against the United Nations is a good thing. Firstly, it tells the UN we are more interested in truth than conformance. Secondly, we get to find out how much sovereignty we actually have. Third, it sets a precedent. If we are prepared to ignore the UN directives on this issue, why not on other issues?

Speaking of “free education” and other soft lies, perhaps even that term needs to be revised? What we actually have is “tax payer funded education”. It’s not free. More so for me, as I pay high taxes and home school. It’s another disproportionate expense.

Home schooling is on the way out. This is because it is becoming more popular. As parents twig to the steady erosion of education standards in public schools, private education and home schooling will become more popular. The Government monopoly will be threatened, and monopolies don’t like that sort of freedom amongst its consumers. Expect private schools to become more expensive, and home schooling to become more regulated. Regulating something out of existence is a great way for a government monopoly to eradicate the competition.

What else is free? A while ago I had a rant about Kapiti Mayor Jenny Rowan giving out free mercury based light bulbs [Kapiti Mayor Walks On Water]. The bill has just come in. These free light bulbs have cost ratepayers an approximate $90,000. Furthermore, that’s $90,000 of light bulbs local businesses will not sell, because the units were not purchased locally. Another misuse of the term “free”. Rate payer funded light bulbs would be more accurate.

This is not the business of councils, and is simply communism in action. We pay a myriad of taxes, and if consumers cannot figure out that mercury bulbs save money off their power bill, why should additional taxes be raised? Contact Energy was prepared to put in 25K – that could have funded a brochure that gave people the facts (there are costs as well as benefits to using these things) and rate payers would not be out of pocket. Furthermore, the council saw fit to take a 75K loan to fund this theft. So now we have interest to pay on top of the initial outlay.

Currently, we are still free to speak. However, the government experimenting with internet filters indicates that even this is under threat. Between filtering and more restrictive interpretations on copyright, the government can point to the one thing that will always remain free in this country:

Being taken for a free ride.

Hang on. How much did we pay for NZ Rail again?

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