How much are your kids worth?

When the children of Presidents Trump and Obama attended exclusive, expensive, excellent private schools in the Washington, D.C., area they didn’t, like most students, walk. Nor take one of those familiar yellow buses. Or take Metro. When Amy Carter (famously and briefly) attended a public inner city school just blocks from the White House, she didn’t walk with her pals. The Secret Service then, now and in the future provides 24/7 coverage. None of the first offsprings are guarded by the high school wrestling coach or a PTA volunteer.

Rightly so. For obvious reasons.

While at the office, at many public events and even at inter-congressional league baseball practice, members of Congress are accompanied and protected by highly-trained U.S. Capitol Police. And often times by local law enforcement too. They do not entrust their safety to a home economics or civics teacher with a few hours of handgun training.

Rightly so. For obvious reasons.

When billionaires — whether from the dot-com world or hip hop artists — move about, dine out or stay home, they have expensive round-the-clock protection they pay for in addition to local law enforcement coverage.

While national level politicians debate the issue of school safety, each and every one of them enjoys some form of taxpayer-supplied protection of the highest quality. Whether they favor armed police, armed teachers or a nation without guns, all of them — conservative and liberal — are in Kevlar bubbles protected by well-trained, well-paid, dedicated professionals with bullet proof vests, unlimited backup. And both the protected and their guardians have one of the best (deservedly) pension plans in the nation.

Maybe these politicians, who feel our collective pain, should consider sharing the protection they have with the nation’s public school children. While many private schools hire off-duty cops, many of the nation’s public school kids have little more than an aging custodian with a broomstick (if that) standing between them and a shooter. Some, like in the affluent Washington area, have resource officers. In Fairfax County, Virginia, they are police officers. Nationally, it varies from state to state and county to county.

Here’s a thought: Instead of sending Mr. Corrigan the overweight out of shape math teacher to the firing range, hire a pro to protect our kids during the school day. Instead of getting Ms. Feeney the civics teacher to pack heat in her fake Coach purse, hire an off-duty cop. Or sherrif’s deputy. Or state trooper.

Let the state, county or city pay their salary — as overtime. Then we (the taxpayers, PTA, civic association, whatever) reimburse the state, county or city for the extra cost. In many jurisdictions that overtime would boost the value of their pensions when they eventually retire. Some could stay on their public-school guardian jobs after retirement.

Politicians and rich folks are already doing it. Some will have protection for life.

All we are asking is professional-quality, normal-school-hours protection for our most precious “possessions,” our kids. Not even round-the-clock coverage for life like politicians or the super-rich. Which, by the way, we are already paying to protects. And their kids.

So what’s it worth to you? What value would you place on your children for insurance purposes?

Nearly Useless Factoid

By Michael O’Connell

Jonathan Swift published his essay A Modest Proposal anonymously in 1729.

Source: Wikipedia

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