President Trump’s spat with Harvard rolls on. Yesterday, he castigated Harvard as a “far left Institution,” and a “liberal mess.” Harvard’s president has self-righteously accused Trump of violating the university’s free speech rights by withholding $2 billion of federal subsidies to the college.
The obvious solution here is for Harvard to go the Hillsdale College route and turn down any further federal funding. Then they can say or do whatever they want.
But the real financial scandal exposed here is that a university with a $50 billion+ tax-free endowment receives billions of dollars a year of taxpayer money.
Why?
This is Robin Hood in reverse: tax the poor and give to the ultra-rich.
Harvard doesn’t need financial help. Here is a graph of Harvard’s endowment over the last several decades.
And here is a graph of what has happened to tuition at Harvard. The endowment hasn’t reduced the average tuition by one thin dime.
While the university amasses one of the most bountiful treasure chests on the planet, it continues to raise tuition way above the inflation rate. What a scam.
Congress is, as we speak, rewriting the tax laws. Put a one-time excise tax of 15% on university endowments of more than $1 billion and then close the tax law loophole that allows millionaires and billionaires to write off their donations to colleges.
Use the money raised to lower the tax rates on everyone else.