Letter: Shortsighted education opposition

EDITOR,
Concerning recent letters regarding parents “footing the bill” for their children’s education — I feel if a parent has to “foot the bill,” then parent and child alone should enjoy the benefits that education brings. So, when the child educated today on his or her parent’s dime prospers, the prosperity (monetary and otherwise) will not be shared by the community, it will be shared by that family alone.
If we maintain this line of thinking, certainly those who were able to educate their children will want to “foot the bill” for many other public benefits we now enjoy, as there will be no tax base. The educated of the future will then probably want to “foot the bill” for a road construction and maintenance service, as the roads they utilize to get to the job that allows them to earn the funding for their child’s education will no longer be paid for by the public.
Furthermore, as there will be no public law enforcement, the elite may also want to hire a security force that will protect them. After all, it only stands to reason that the indigent population created will, in desperation, employ any means necessary to survive.
Obviously, there are many other changes that will occur. It will be an adjustment, but we, the American people, will get by. We probably won’t enjoy the quality of life we do now, but at least we held on to those few bucks the 8-year-old neighbor kid was trying to screw us out of. Hey, we worked hard for that money.
I do not have a position on the parcel tax at this point, but it is my strong opinion that public education is a fundamental tenet of this society. It is a mistake to forget how we became one of the greatest nations on Earth, and to deny public education’s role suggests the marijuana dispensary proposed for Scotts Valley is already open and business is booming.  
Public education benefits everyone, not just those who currently have children enrolled in public schools.