William Marvel: The Stranglehold

Annual town and school meetings almost always resonate with cliché pronouncements that emphasize the parochial thinking of those who utter them. "These children are our future," for example, stands as a brainless argument for almost any expenditure in the racket that public education has become — whether it be for expanding the student parking lot or additional benefits in a teacher contract.

"If it saves one life, it will all be worth it" may be the most notoriously manipulative phrase. It will inevitably be regurgitated to support proposals that are always ridiculously expensive and seldom even marginally effective. I was surprised not to hear it in last year's push for a new capital reserve account to fund school security.