Sunday, May 13, 2012

Living in the US, I've heard the term "school district" thrown about quite often. Most married couples who have a kid move to a good school district. The fact that a good school district had good schools in it and hence families with children would want to move there was obvious. However an interesting thought across over coffee once. The local administration of a good school district spends a larger part of its tax revenue on schools than a mediocre one. More money into schools means better quality. This leads to the observation that if a family without a child moves to a good school district, the family's tax money goes to a facility (schools) which the family does not use. So basically the family pays for someone else's child at the cost of its benefits.

Does this logic apply in India? Should it apply in India? Does the tax paying middle class think of it?
I can flick through cricket matches, screaming cheerleaders, dancing starlets, discussions on national security, economic analysis and overly adorned, dying and weeping mother-in-laws. No wonder that I can devote a fraction of my attention to the truly important ones. I saw Amir Khan's show's first episode - too distracted by the audience wiping tears and then Amir wiping tears to focus on the real issue. Are we prioritizing our attention correctly?