I think Kinsella made a funny, interesting point. I agree with Kinsella separating this type of thing from, say, supporting the Mises Institute. I get the porch panhandling at my home, from strangers, no less than twice a week. Plus, since I am "in good" with quite a few families in the neighborhood, they send their kids to my door first (I'm always the first one to fill out the order list) to hawk the latest overpriced items from some cheese and sausage catalog, or candy catalog. I always reject the former while being an easy target for all the good, little kiddies that I do know. How many times can I order peanut butter-filled, chocolate teddy bears that I don't eat? (Ever try to explain a low-carb diet to a big-eyed kid?) Worse yet, is when you are assaulted by all of your co-workers to buy all of this junk from their kids, and you are made to feel like a heel for saying no. Ever walk in the lunchroom and see 5-6 public school-driven, buy-buy lists sitting on the table? I've been at places where Big $$$$ partners impressed upon me - and other company peons - the near-necessity of purchasing their kid's junk, and it was implied that it was part of the "company culture."
What kills me is when the *public* schools are sending these kids out to make tiny profit margins on this junk, because the parents are so reinforced on the idea of free education and free everything that they can't fathom paying a cent so their kid can play in the band, play lacrosse, or go on a special field trip. They've been lined up at the trough for far too long, and they are mere parasites sucking blood from the productive elements in society.
Something I found most egregious was when the Detroit News ran a series of articles - this past summer - on how horrid! it was that parents had to pitch in some moolah when their kiddies wanted to engage in certain sports or extracurricular activities. Two of the articles, here and here, are bound to kick up one's blood pressure.
These upper middle class, middle class, and lower class folks, that take my money to educate their kids, are appalled that they should have to fund their own child's entertainment. These parasites bitch and whine about paying $25 or $35 for their kid to play some oddball sport, or in some travelling jazz band. When they have to fork over $100 for something, look out, 'cuz it's near-riot time. What really whales at ya is when some Grosse Pointe lawyer or doctor, who lives in a $2 million lakefront mansion, says, "I had to pay $225 for my daughter to play field hockey, and I think that's really unfair...." At least private school parents - who are already paying public school taxes *and* private school tuition - are trying to soften the blow on their wallet by engaging in a little fund-raising.
As one who formerly had audited public schools, I noted that school finance is the most twisted, parasitical mess-of-a-rathole that I have ever witnessed.
