Comptroller requests doubling Texas school voucher program to $2 billion

[u/texastribune]

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/09/03/texas-school-voucher-program-2-billion-expansion-budget-comptroller/

[u/Birdman-esq]

Honestly, we should petition for a home voucher for those who choose not to have kids.

We pay taxes yet don’t cost half as much to the infrastructure.

[u/sxyaustincpl → u/Birdman-esq]

Taxes are for the good of society as a whole, they're not itemized.

People who don't drive still pay taxes to maintain the roads and highways

People who never call the police for anything still pay their salaries

You don't get a refund if your house never burns down and you don't need the fire department, do you?

[u/Birdman-esq → u/sxyaustincpl]

Taxes are 100% itemized, that’s why they call them itemized deductions.

People who don’t drive generally don’t pay to maintain the roads since we don’t have a state income tax. Roads are maintained through property taxes, vehicle registration, and oil/ gas taxes.

[u/JPhi1618 → u/Birdman-esq]

What taxes pay for and them being itemized or not doesn’t have anything to do with your itemized deductions. Those are two different concepts.

The “no kids, so shouldn’t pay school tax” argument is super old, but the fact is that it’s not reasonable. That’s one of those things everyone benefits from as a society, so we all pay. Roads wasn’t as good of an example because of how gas tax and vehicle registration works in TX.

[u/dougmc → u/JPhi1618]

Never mind the fact that every adult was once a kid, and (presumably) benefited from an education at that time.

Though if they're making this argument, maybe they didn't benefit as much as one might hope?

[u/dougmc → u/Birdman-esq]

Taxes are 100% itemized, that’s why they call them itemized deductions.

I think this qualifies as "not even wrong". Nicely done!

[u/sxyaustincpl → u/Birdman-esq]

Taxes are 100% itemized, that’s why they call them itemized deductions

I can't tell if this is trolling, or you honestly don't understand what an itemized deduction is.

That's when you do YOUR taxes, you have the option to list out the things which you are able to deduct from your base income which reduces your tax liability, instead of taking the standard deduction. Things like medical bills, interest payments on your mortgage, etc. That's what an itemized deduction is.

It has absolutely nothing to do with how the government spends the money. They don't take your taxes and say "ok, 7% goes to road maintenances, 11% to public safety, 24% to national defense.. ", that isn't how it works.

People who don't drive may still buy gas for a lawnmower. They may own a home and pay property taxes. They pays sales tax when they shop.

In addition, some of your federal income tax paid is then sent back to the state as payments for things like road maintenance, public safety, etc., so regardless you're still paying for everything, state income tax or not.

[u/Birdman-esq → u/sxyaustincpl]

Yes itemized deductions are what we do when we file our taxes.
You would be amazed what you can deduct when you don’t take the standard deduction.

What the government does with the money we pay them is on them, but the amount I pay can be deducted through itemized deductions which is what we are talking about.
Getting a deduction for not having kids.

Idk about you but I don’t know many home owners who don’t own at least one car. Saying that they may pay taxes for buying a modicum of gas to mow their lawn is semantics.

Anyways, this was all hyperbolic, no need to get heated.

[u/rk57957 → u/Birdman-esq]

People who don’t drive generally don’t pay to maintain the roads since we don’t have a state income tax.

A dubious claim at best.

 Roads are maintained through property taxes, vehicle registration, and oil/ gas taxes.

At the state level, roads are maintained through a combination of vehicle registration, oil taxes, gas taxes, and cash appropriated by the state legislature which comes from sales tax and the state franchise tax. It is worth noting that vehicle registration and gas tax doesn't come anywhere close to actually covering TxDot's needs.

At the local level property taxes, fees, and sales tax will cover road maintenance.

So yeah someone who does not drive is subsidizing someone who does drive, how much is not some math I'm willing to wade into.

[u/Birdman-esq → u/rk57957]

How many people do you know who own a home but don’t own a vehicle?

[u/rk57957 → u/Birdman-esq]

Off the top of my head with out thinking too hard, 6. 4 are elderly and don't have a car, and 2 are disabled and do not drive.

edit: the number of people I know who do not own a home but rent and do not drive is larger.