Robert Reich: Government subsidies to private universities growing
Imagine a system of college education supported by high and growing government spending on elite private universities that mainly educate children of the wealthy and upper-middle class, with low and declining government spending on public universities that educate large numbers of children from the working class and the poor.
You can stop imagining. That’s the American system right now.
Government subsidies to elite private universities take the form of tax deductions for people who make charitable contributions to them. In economic terms, a tax deduction is the same as government spending. It has to be made up by other taxpayers.
These tax subsidies are on the rise, because in recent years a relatively few very rich people have had far more money than they can possibly spend or even give away to their children. So they’re donating it to causes they believe in, such as the elite private universities that educated them or that they want their children to attend.
full: http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/reich/article/Government-subsidies-to-private-universities-5832631.php
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Sometimes I hate this country. I really do.
