New Hampshire Democrats have tied their government school monopoly to a crap wagon. It’s filled with the words “tax dollars can go to religious schools.” It’s in the NH state Constitution. Well, the US Supreme Court may be about to toss that limitation in Montana and that could tip over the NH crap wagon.
Related: School funding… Look, over there!
In oral arguments yesterday, the Supreme Court questioned the litigants in a challenge to a Montana constitutional provision that bars any government benefit from flowing to private schools run by churches — even tax breaks for contributions.
I should not be a surprise if Montana’s Blaine Amendment, and everyone else’s, get vacated. The writing was on the church wall in June of 2017 when SCOTUS, in a 7-2 Ruling, declared that a state could not withhold an available public benefit on account of religious status.
In Trinity Church v Comer the Court,
“…ruled in favor of a Missouri church that sued the state after being denied taxpayer funds for a playground project because of a provision that prohibits state funding for religious entities.”
The Missouri law was discriminatory. Blaine Amendments are as well.
New Hampshire Democrats and their public school monopoly back-up singers have been playing this tune for ages concerning our education tax credit scholarship program. It is a narrative that is retarded on so many levels. It assumes that private money belongs to the state before it is taxed because it is a credit against business taxes.
Let’s pretend that makes sense. That you didn’t build that, when in fact we can’t build or even maintain a government until someone outside government does something productive that creates the wealth to fund it.
The second argument is always about the separation of church and state. No such thing exists, but pretending again that it does, it means that tax dollars cannot go to any religious group or organization. To their credit, the NH State Constitution was amended in 1877 to say just that about education.
Provided, nevertheless, that no money raised by taxation shall ever be granted or applied for the use of the schools of institutions of any religious sect or denomination.
But from 30,000 feet, this is discriminatory for the reasons set out by SCOTUS in Trinity Church v Comer especially when you consider that the Left supports sending billions of your tax dollars to religious groups annually for Refugee resettlement programs that are entirely faith-based.
It’s hard to ignore the hypocrisy.
Blaine Amendments were the result of failed efforts to amend the US Constitution to prevent tax dollars from ending up in the hands of Catholics. Now you can’t suggest we stop sending billions in tax dollars to Catholics without being called a racist hater.
In other words, giving tax money to religious institutions is fine when it advances the Left’s agenda and illegal or unconstitutional when it does not. If you are surprised, you are not paying enough attention.
And don’t be surprised if SCOTUS decides Blaine Amendments are unconstitutional (because they are) or if the Left freaks out.
The Left loves their education monopoly. It launders tax money into their campaigns and is run by their propagandists. Dopey kids increasingly support their socialist ideas. Even their claims about diversity, equity, and non-discrimination are fake. I’ve said it more than once. Diversity to a Democrat is a room full of people who all have to think the same way.
But denying equal access to education that is not run by the government is discriminatory. NH, for example, has no law demanding the state create the opportunity for an education just that if support it. Using the tax code to maintain that monopoly is tyrannical. So what does striking these limitations do?
If all schools, regardless of religious affiliation, are entitled to funding and parity, it could mean that some sum of money truly must follow the child. The amount would be much less than the average public school spends. Taxes at the local level might have to change as well. But a more likely resolution would be for so not much would the legislatures come up with a means to discredit schools they don’t control to keep the money where they want it.
And it can’t be based on achievement or most all the public schools would fail.
I look forward to watching this dance play out if SCOTUS, as it appears, votes against the state of Montana.
| HotAir
