Brent Peak
Submitted photo/Brent Peak
By Brent Peak | Phoenix
OPINION — Reading Stacy Mantle’s reporting on Arizona’s expanding voucher program and the budget pressures it’s placing on public schools, I realized there may be other unmet personal preferences my city should address, starting with mine.
I want to manage my own services. I prefer not to use the public library, so I’d like my share of funding sent to me so I can buy books I approve of. I also don’t want to rely on public safety, so my city should redirect my portion of police funding to help me hire my own personal security, someone who aligns with my values and responds only to my calls.
Public parks aren’t really my thing now that my kids are too old to use the playground equipment. I’d prefer a reimbursement so I can landscape my backyard to reflect my personal vision. And while I understand the city maintains roads, I drive selectively and would rather receive a transportation voucher to cover tires, oil changes and the occasional Uber.
I’m not asking for more public money. I’m simply asking for my share to be redirected away from shared systems and into choices I ought to be able to make for myself.
After all, if public funds are best used when individuals decide how to spend them, then consistency demands we apply that logic broadly. Libraries, roads, police, fire protection, public schools — these are just services, and it seems that services should follow personal standards and preference, not collective responsibility.
Of course, this would leave the shared systems underfunded, strained, increasingly ineffective, and open to more criticism and apparent justification for continuing to redirect funds. That seems to be the accepted cost of choice.
If this sounds unreasonable, that may be worth sitting with. Sometimes the fastest way to understand the rationale and impact of a policy is to follow its logic all the way through.
Brent Peak is the co-chair of the progressive grassroots group, Northwest Valley Indivisible. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.