It's true that it's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of Harvard.
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Replying to @HeerJeet @davidrieff
So what happens to all the medical research being done into cancer, COVID-19, etc.? Research into climate change, nuclear fusion, mass incarceration? Universities are not just for teaching...
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Replying to @DavidAvromBell @HeerJeet
I wholly agree. I don't share
@HeerJeet animus toward Harvard but even if I did, if@BrankoMilan is correct, as I think he is that for the foreseeable future there's only capitalism, talk of abolishing Harvard, taxing it out of existence, etc., are just millenarian fantasies.2 replies 0 retweets 1 like -
I think utopian proposals are useful for helping to call attention to the inadequacy of the real. I grant Harvard won't be abolished but I'd be happy if greater resources were given to fostering the colleges & universities that most people are actually likely to attend.
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Again, that's capitalism. And given that, I'd prefer to have rich people donating to Harvard than buying themselves another plane, boat, compound, or work of art, which is the real world alternative. The real will always be inadequate; the level of inadequacy is the only issue.
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Replying to @davidrieff @HeerJeet and
Someone like Kenneth Griffin is able to donate a record-setting amount for Harvard financial aid ($150 million), then still pay a record-setting amount ($240 mn) for his umpteenth Manhattan penthouse apartment - not to mention his art purchases. He needs to be taxed much more
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Replying to @eric_weinberger @HeerJeet and
Indeed. And unlike taxing Harvard out of existence, raising taxes on very rich people, and closing tax loopholes, is entirely feasible in the context of the economic system in which we in fact live.
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Replying to @davidrieff @eric_weinberger and
Right. We could go back to the top marginal tax rates that prevailed in the administration of that crazy radical socialist, Dwight Eisenhower...
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Replying to @DavidAvromBell @davidrieff and
There is s'thing in-between taxing Ivy out of existence & doing nothing. At least 2 possibilities: taxing endowments, or making a strong moral pressure (like BLM did now) on Ivy contributing a given % of annual income to set up a fund to help say community colleges.
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Replying to @BrankoMilan @DavidAvromBell and
To me, taxing endowments, while of course technically feasible, is realistically a non-starter. But your idea of pressurizing Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, etc., to contribute a given percentage of annual income to community colleges in the states they're located in is TERRIFIC!
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It is an excellent idea! This is why Branko is a deservedly-respected economist and I'm a twitter clown!
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Replying to @HeerJeet @davidrieff and
Hi
@HeerJeet I was going to like the tweet until I got to the end, so now I have to simultaneously like it and disagree with it, following in the footsteps of many who recant what they have just said a minute ago. (very glad you like the idea.)0 replies 0 retweets 3 likesThanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
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