[llamaorama]

Geez, you guys really turned a small issue into huge fight with hyperbole and grandiose ideological bullshit...

My own opinion would be that the pragmatic approach is to fund things like the riverwalk if they are going to grow the tax base. That way there will be more resources for schools and other public services in the future. Maybe the real solution to the academic achievement gap is to deal with 'upstream' issues like poverty and social ills in those communities, schools are 'downstream' and are overstretched. I understand why some people see varying inequities and make it an issue of 'deservedness', like there are more noble causes the money should go to, but that isn't always a good way to run a city if you can see the big picture.

However I disagree with the reactionary statements made by some about the upper class being more important or 'deserving'. How is paying more taxes proportional to your income the same as having a 'target on your back'. Give me a break. I might be something of a contrarian but I despise the term 'meritocracy'. What is merit? Who decides who has it and who doesn't? Why exactly does a capitalist society need a separate system of merit? Why does someone "deserve" anything?

I like a philosophy based on equal rights, positive and negative. Equal doesn't necessarily mean 'the same', it means we all play by the same rules and have the same worth as human beings. People have a right to pursue economic gain, so naturally some people will have more monetary wealth than others. But people also have positive rights to well-being and inclusion, which demands the existence of a social safety net and civic services.