Increased parking charge irks Ithaca High School students(welcome to the city of evil, kids)

Ithaca Journal ^ | Originally published Saturday, April 26, 2003 | By ANNE JU

[Behind Liberal Lines]

ITHACA -- Ithaca High School students who drive to school are upset about having to pay a high parking fee next year.

But, according to school officials, the money generated will help pay for things that will benefit all students.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

As noted at the View from Arlen:

Ithaca...has struck again. This time by looking to impose a tax directly on children.

The Ithaca Journal reports that Board of Education officials have proposed a $180.00 per year parking fee to be charged students who drive to school. According to the Journal, the fee would be applied to "things that will benefit all students," which, it turns out, consist largely of "positions which involve communicating with new families at the schools."

In other words, students are being taxed to pay for more bureaucratic fat at school. Niiiiiiccce...

The mentality seems to be the typical liberal one: that students who drive must be able to afford the cost. So this is just another way of "taxing the rich."

However, as with most liberal schemes, this ignores reality. Many of the students who drive to school do so because they have after school jobs, in order to pay for things that "rich" children may get from their parents gratis. But now, in addition to the usual taxes on their labor, such as payroll, they are being socked with Ithaca's own version of a commuter tax.

Faced with this tax, the students are already planning to do what many business owners do when confronted with taxes: looking for ways to avoid it. The Journal article notes that "according to parents and students...students will get around the fee by parking on surrounding streets."

So the kids now have their first lessons in loopholes.

And this lesson may be another reason why this scheme will backfire. By imposing a fee so high that no one bothers to pay it, the school may actually lose money (a fact one board member acknowledges to the Journal).

On the other, maybe this was a good thing. School is supposed to be a place for learning, of course. And, in this case, there would appear to be a lot of valuable lessons being taught: that higher taxes often cause a loss of revenue; that people will look for a way to avoid paying taxes; that taxes on "the rich" often hurt the middle class and the wage earner.

As noted above, it looks like some of the children might even be learning these lessons.

The real question is...are the adults?

[Behind Liberal Lines]

City of Evil bump

[babylonian]

Somebody should remind these school officials that the parents already own the parking lot.

[KantianBurke]

"I think it would be a fine idea if (the school is) willing, on a case by case basis, to grant waivers for those who really need it and can't afford it," she said. For students who can't afford the fee, Furman said he supports a sliding fee scale, and that exact numbers are yet to be decided."

How Marxist of them. "We know how best to spend YOUR money and only we can decide who has to kiss our rings to get an exemption."

[nicmarlo]

according to school officials, the money generated will help pay for things that will benefit all students.

Why are they grumbling? Don't all liberals believe in the nanny state, that we should give ever more taxes to the government so that they can spend our money on things for us? They should, likewise, be happy when they start working and see how much of their pay gets taken out on more taxes, to pay for yet more programs.

[NativeNewYorker]

Welcome to the real world, kids!!

[Soaring Feather]

So the kids now have their first lessons in loopholes.

And this lesson may be another reason why this scheme will backfire. By imposing a fee so high that no one bothers to pay it, the school may actually lose money (a fact one board member acknowledges to the Journal).

Well, just another pot hole for the "City of Evil".

[Billthedrill]

I dunno - a high-schooler's first acquaintance with the iniquities of taxation usually comes when he or she goes into sticker shock upon receipt of that first paycheck. This may speed the process. If so, it's a healthy thing.

We had this problem at my high school too, but a couple of extra hitchin' posts and the problem was solved.

[Mr. K]

good lesson to the little commies they are trying to raise at Ithaca...

See what happens when the authority has total control of your money??

[Between the Lines]

The students should boycott these fees in mass. When the number of school bus riders soars I would think the school would realize the benefit of reasonable parking fees.

But in reality this is Ithaca and these people will swallow anything that is supposedly “for the children”.

[Living Free in NH]

I've always thought the student parking fees were unfair. Why must kids pay to park, yet the teachers do not?

[mewzilla]

LOL. Hoist with their own petard! Gotta love it!

[Scothia]

The students should boycott these fees in mass. When the number of school bus riders soars I would think the school would realize the benefit of reasonable parking fees.

But in reality this is Ithaca and these people will swallow anything that is supposedly ?for the children?.

This is all about discouraging private use of cars, anyway. They want the kids riding the buses. All the better to herd them that way--make the kids feel more dependent on the almighty State.

If I were them I'd have a Car-in and pack that lot tighter than Anna Nicole Smith's girdle, so no tow truck can get through. Then I'd wait for the next board meeting and all pile in with their homework, hundreds of kids, and plop themselves down next to the board members till they can't so much as move to get their donuts and coffee. Then I'd remind those jacka$$es exactly for whom they're working.

[Republicus2001]

well it's just like minimum wage...why make it $8 or 10/hour why not make it minimum $25/ hour or $100 or $1000?

Because at a certain point the market will no bear the increase and be forced to cease to function.

Now the neighbors will go crazy for the parking...the school will cave and eventually will return to NO charge parking

[CSM]

"I'd say the $180 is an inconvenience but when compared to the programs that are at risk of being cut, it's a comparatively good way for the district to save money," Williams said. "Because parking is secondary to academic costs."

The training seems to be effective! Next, they will begin to charge the students admission at the door.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Now the neighbors will go crazy for the parking...the school will cave and eventually will return to NO charge parking

This being Ithaca, more likely that they will ban on-street parking in the area between 8 am and 4 pm and then raise the revenue by writing parking tickets.

[Under the Radar]

Since when is parking a right, and not a privilege? I am sorry, sure sounds like a lot of whining to me.

Of course, I am a cranky old geezer (31), and I remember back when few high schoolers had their own cars. Now many folks seem to think owning a car is some kind of constitutional guarantee.

Feh. Let them charge what the market can handle.

[RightWhale]

The kids should ride the bus and never drive to school. If they can drive, they can pay the fee. The fee should be even higher.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

I admit there is a certain appeal to the "parking is a priviledge, not a right" argument. However, what I find interesting is
-the way this was imposed as a revenue source ON KIDS;
-the fact that the revenue may never bee seen because kids will stop driving to school/parking on campus;
-the likelihood that the school will not get the funding, but still keep the positions

[Behind Liberal Lines]

I admit there is a certain appeal to the "parking is a priviledge, not a right" argument. However, what I find interesting is
-the way this was imposed as a revenue source ON KIDS;
-the fact that the revenue may never bee seen because kids will stop driving to school/parking on campus;
-the likelihood that the school will not get the funding, but still keep the positions