by David Safier
Matthew Ladner of the Goldwater Institute has made some detailed comments on a few of my recent posts, An interesting Number and More Fool's Gold: Ed tax credits save us money. I, of course, have responded and am waiting for what he has for me next.
Once again, I foolishly rush into the fray armed with my MacBook, my year's of teaching experience, my reading about education and my wits. Matthew Ladner has a PhD, the force of G.I. behind him as well as years of experience researching and writing on these subjects.
Despite the odds, I feel like I'm holding my own. At one point, Mr. Ladner actually complimented me on my intellectual honesty because I conceded that the legislation that creates the corporate tuition tax credits (as opposed to the individual tax credits) is well written and probably even saves the state money on balance. That doesn't mean I approve of educational tax credits, but I think this bill has reasonable restrictions attached to how the private school scholarships can be given out.
I accept the compliment and am willing to return it the first time I see Mr. Ladner admit that the other side — my side — may win some small part of the argument now and then. But maybe he's all right all the time, in his world.
If you want to read a fair fight on education between two windy guys, go to the comments on those two posts. And please, feel free to chime in.
Yeah, like theHome Builders Association of Central Arizona, the Koch family, Southwest gas.
How the Goldwater Institute is Funded
The Goldwater Institute is supported by thousands of members in Arizona and states across the country. To ensure its independence, the Goldwater Institute neither seeks nor accepts government funds, and no single contributor provides more than five percent of its revenue. The Goldwater Institute is a tax-exempt educational foundation under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.
http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/aboutus/aboutus.aspx
You are doing a good job as you continues to not address your points.
One question I have would like to have answered is who precisely funds the Goldwater Institute. They seem to get a lot of space in local media to spout their beliefs but we don’t really know who is funding them and why we should care at all what they have to say other than the fact that they apparently have influence with many elected officials.