I would never criticize a decision to have and raise a child with Down syndrome. I would, however, point out that not everyone is equally equipped, by luck or effort, to support the needs of such a child. And then what?
Mr. Will says that “two things that have enhanced [his son] Jon’s life are the Washington subway system, which opened in 1976, and the Washington Nationals baseball team, which arrived in 2005.” Mr. Will’s conservative cohort, in today’s radicalized, Tea Party manifestation, would rabidly oppose any federal funding for the construction of said subway system. It is ironic that one of the two things that most improved Jon’s quality of life was a “liberal” infrastructure spending program, the National Capital Transportation Act of 1965. And it’s even more ironic that the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority was bailed out in 2009 by municipal bonds partially subsidized by the federal government. Regarding the other thing that improved Jon’s life, Major League Baseball allowed the defunct Montreal Expos to be reborn as the Washington Nationals only after the Washington, D.C., city council agreed to $611 million of taxpayer support for the construction of a new stadium.
In short, Mr. Will’s story dramatically underscores the fact that taxpayer support for government-funded infrastructure has a profoundly positive impact in enabling all of our citizens, regardless of ability or wealth, to participate in the blessings of our American society. One can only wonder how Mr. Will can continue to offer intellectual shelter to a political mentality that would have told him and his son that freedom means never paying a dime in taxes to help your fellow citizens, including his own son.