School funding ruling points to difference between rights and benefits | Kyle Sammin

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A judge found that Pa.'s method of funding schools is unfair and inadequate, but the case shows the limits of trying to bypass politics by going to court, Kyle Sammin writes. 'Politics, here, is not a dirty word; it’s how a free people governs itself.'

These all require some judgment calls at the margin, and courts have spent centuries sorting out exactly what each of these rights means. But no matter the issue, once something is found to be a protected right, the remedy is simple: The court will tell the government to stop infringing upon that right. If the government is suppressing speech or publication, the court will require that it stop.

Recent constitutional history has begun to blur the line. The right against self-incrimination has been determined to mean that the police have a duty to remind you of that right. The right to counsel has, in some cases, come to mean that the state must pay for you to have an attorney. Rights begin to bleed over into benefits, or “positive rights.”

Sometimes the burden is minor: It doesn’t cost the taxpayer anything to have police tell people they arrest that they “have the right to remain silent.” Public defenders cost a bit more, though it is a cost that almost everyone is willing to bear to ensure fair trials. Still, exactly how much a government must spend — and how to pay for that spending — begins to look a lot more like legislating than adjudicating.

 

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SDP isn't getting a penny, because the state doesn't have the money. Pa posts its balance sheet online. It's $100 billion in debt with $20B cash on hand.Half of the debt is unfunded pensions. The courts have also said that pensions have to be paid.

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