Hi everyone,

This is my first essay in years... for me AWA is the toughest section on GMAT. Can you guys please take a look and give me some feeback? I'll really appreciate it.

Thanks...

Analysis of an issue

“Some people argue that those who do not send their children to public schools should not have to fund these schools through taxes, since neither parents nor children benefit from these schools. They ignore the fact that everyone benefits from strong economy that a well-educated populace generates”


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Some people argue that people whose children do not attend public schools should not have to fund those schools through taxes. Such a view is flawed and can be countered on many fronts.

First, if given a choice, most rich citizens will opt out of funding public schools and will send their children to private schools. This will create an enormous deficit in basic education budget. Poor and lower middle class families, which are already struggling to make their ends meet, will have to pay even more tax to provide for these schools. Also, private school education will remain out of their each, just as it is today.

Second, allowing citizens to not participate in public schools will set a bad precedent. For example, People who rely on public transportation may not want to pay for highway projects, most of which are highly subsidized by the government. People who are never hit by any natural disaster in New York, for example, may not like to see their taxes going towards hurricane relief funds. That would mean that every necessity, no matter how basic, will be driven by free market economics. However, government has the duty to ensure that a citizen of any social and financial standing gets fair deal in the most basic needs, basic education being one of the most important of them.

Third, our economy depends on having a large workforce with varied skills. If this policy becomes a reality, school education will become an expensive affair, and most poor families may choose to not send their children to school. Within a generation or two, we’ll have an acute shortage of skilled labor. This will surely undermine our technological and financial lead in the world.

Clearly, providing people with an option to not pay taxes towards public school funding will deeply compromise our economy in the long run. Also, Poor and middle class families will have very limited resources for their children’s basic education.
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