11–20 of 96 posts
It is disturbing that the author so lightly morphs a tax exemption into a taxpayer subsidy. As if the natural state of things is for the government to tax everything and whatever it doesn't is being subsidized.
The authors entire argument falls apart right there.
It is disturbing that the author so lightly morphs a tax exemption into a taxpayer subsidy. As if the natural state of things is for the government to tax everything and whatever it doesn't is being subsidized.
What's the difference between giving you $X that other people don't get, and asking you to pay $X less in taxes that other people have to pay?
Why anyone would get so money hungry as to attack them is beyond me.
People give these elite colleges and universities a hard time, but I think it is mostly sensational stories with no meat. Do you know how many US schools are need blind and meet full need for all students? 6. [1] I also have no clue where the story about these schools being for rich kids came from. When my wife went to Princeton a few years back it was one of the cheapest options for her! Schools all base need on the…
What would "meat" look like to you? Suppose you were to start "a hedge fund with a university attached to it", in order to use the university's non-profit status to minimize paying taxes. What would that look like? Would you set up need blind admission, in order to provide better cover to justify the hedge fund? The article points out that the non-profit status means that "Princeton received $105,000 in tax benefits…
It is disturbing that the author so lightly morphs a tax exemption into a taxpayer subsidy. As if the natural state of things is for the government to tax everything and whatever it doesn't is being subsidized.
Why shouldn't everyone pay their share? If I'm paying my share and you aren't paying yours, I'm subsidizing your government services.
It is disturbing that the author so lightly morphs a tax exemption into a taxpayer subsidy. As if the natural state of things is for the government to tax everything and whatever it doesn't is being subsidized.
What's the difference between giving you $X that other people don't get, and asking you to pay $X less in taxes that other people have to pay?
Another is that this isn't zero sum.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the difference between giving you $X that other people don't get, and asking you to pay $X less in taxes that other people have to pay?
Because it's an educational institution. That's the whole point! Harvard gets to have people with no money get degrees from their school for free because of this. It's a wonderful thing for society that they have such a big endowment. Why anyone would get so money hungry as to attack them is beyond me.
As far as I know, enrollment at Harvard and most other elite institutions skews heavily toward wealthy people.
High education should not be taxed, period. It's investment towards more tax income in 3-4 years. If you need to tax something to support some providers of education, it's not other providers of eduction.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the difference between giving you $X that other people don't get, and asking you to pay $X less in taxes that other people have to pay?
Because it's an educational institution. That's the whole point! Harvard gets to have people with no money get degrees from their school for free because of this. It's a wonderful thing for society that they have such a big endowment. Why anyone would get so money hungry as to attack them is beyond me.
People give these elite colleges and universities a hard time, but I think it is mostly sensational stories with no meat. Do you know how many US schools are need blind and meet full need for all students? 6. [1] I also have no clue where the story about these schools being for rich kids came from. When my wife went to Princeton a few years back it was one of the cheapest options for her! Schools all base need on the…
Harvard waives fees altogether for families making less than $65,000. More than 60% of US households have income less than that+, yet only 20% of Harvard's undergraduate class pays no fees. From this we reasonably say that Harvard is mostly a school for rich kids, despite its generosity to those non-rich kids it lets in. In this way it is similar to elite private high schools in NYC or boarding schools in New England…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the difference between giving you $X that other people don't get, and asking you to pay $X less in taxes that other people have to pay?
One difference is that there aren't just two sets in the tax-paying universe. Another is that this isn't zero sum.