This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
SB118, sponsored by Sen. Pat Jones, would only allow two personal tax exemptions per family ("Senate panel OKs bill requiring big families to pay more for schools," Tribune, Feb. 10). That runs counter to the philosophy on which government programs are built.
Most of the things we need as individuals and families we pay for ourselves. But there are some things that are valuable enough to all of society that we choose to fund them universally. Education is one of those things along with infrastructure, defense, law enforcement and basic safeguards for the poor.
An educated populace has been deemed valuable enough that even those who don't have children in public schools assist in paying the cost of educating all children. Just as those of us who are law-abiding pay for the police, and gainfully employed pay for assistance programs.
If public education is a worthy expenditure then it is worth spreading the cost evenly over society like we've done up until now.
Mark Drennan
Sandy