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RE: Beck: Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education

Locus Coeruleus — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:45:40 GMT

[quote]Isn't Glen's point that it's hypocritical for people to push for "windfall taxes" until it affects them? Jeez Locus, with that "bright young mind" I'd think you'd have gathered that [/quote]

I don't know about that, but I do know how to crack a joke every now and then! :w00t::P:D:)

RE: Beck: Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education

jerm — Sun, 18 May 2008 18:49:47 GMT

[quote]Would you wish to see an entire country of roadkills?[/quote]

Isn't there a whole continent of them? :laugh:

Isn't Glen's point that it's hypocritical for people to push for "windfall taxes" until it affects them? Jeez Locus, with that "bright young mind" I'd think you'd have gathered that :P.

RE: Beck: Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education

-M- — Sat, 17 May 2008 12:45:38 GMT

Are u sure about that Cleo?

RE: Beck: Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education

cleopatra143 — Sat, 17 May 2008 12:18:37 GMT

[quote][b]Tosk (5/17/2008)[/b][hr]Careful there ... that "bright young mind" could do with a lot more education and far less indoctrination.

Dumbing down the entire system to benefit a political philosophy is less than stupid ... Would you wish to see an entire country of roadkills? :D:D:D[/quote]rofl
I have another issue with the "education system".
I have a good friend who is currently going to Harvard on a full scholarship. His parents have tons of money. They could afford to send him anywhere, yet he gets to go for free while the rest of us struggle to make tuition. I'm just as intelligent as he is, so are many others. How is it fair that the rich get free education while the rest of us can only dream about going to Ivy League Colleges?

RE: Beck: Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education

Tosk — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:25:35 GMT

Careful there ... that "bright young mind" could do with a lot more education and far less indoctrination.

Dumbing down the entire system to benefit a political philosophy is less than stupid ... Would you wish to see an entire country of roadkills? :D:D:D

RE: Beck: Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education

Locus Coeruleus — Sat, 17 May 2008 08:11:14 GMT

Mr. Conservative is just ticked off that the Liberals actually have a sphere of dominance, and lo, it actually shapes our bright, young minds!!!! :w00t:

RE: Beck: Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education

-M- — Sat, 17 May 2008 07:37:25 GMT

Couldnt have said it better meself. As before dont bullsjite.

RE: Beck: Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education

Scipio Africanus — Sat, 17 May 2008 07:28:16 GMT

So you guys wanna jack the science slider down to zero for a few turns in order to jack up culture and make the hullabolloi happy? :P

Having taught at Yale, I can say, the places oozes hypocrisy. Despite their massive endowment, students, and faculty in many disciplines do not 'feel rich' on that campus. Buildings are in disrepair, basic services crappy, etc. Harvard I don't know about first hand, but I wouldn't be surprised.

But what that huge endowment does is give those schools options. They can stay AHEAD of the curve as far as deciding they are going to start a 1 or 10 or 100 million dollar program on some new topic that will be the hottest thing in 3 years but right now is just a glimmer of an idea. That has a benefit not just to Americans, who benefit from being citizens in a nation with powerful, mobile, adaptable universities, but also the world, who benefits from getting those tech advances disseminated to them that much quicker.

RE: Beck: Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education

-M- — Sat, 17 May 2008 06:58:37 GMT

dont bullshite the bullshiters

RE: Beck: Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education

jerm — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:48:21 GMT

You gotta love Glen :P

Beck: Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education

Locus Coeruleus — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:18:21 GMT

Sorry guys, it's time to jump back in! :w00t:

[url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/14/beck.collegeendowment/index.html]Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education[/url]

I found the latter half of the article to be particularly interesting...

[quote]

For what's been estimated to be about $300 million a year (less than 1 percent of their endowment's value) Harvard could completely waive tuition, room and board for every single one of their students. Instead, they announced an increase in those fees of about 3.5 percent for next year. Being a student at Harvard will now cost a staggering $47,215 a year.

Doesn't Harvard know how many millions of Americans are struggling to afford college? Don't they want to pay their fair share and help those who are less fortunate?

Some politicians in Massachusetts who can't stand to see so many billions dangling just out of their reach, have proposed a new tax on large university endowments. They don't have a cute name for it yet, so let's call it an "endowment windfall tax."

Under their proposal, all endowments over a billion dollars would be taxed at 2.5 percent, a rate any wealthy individual or corporation would salivate over. The tax would net the state over $1.4 billion a year, which is a lot of money considering that Boston currently receives about $1.8 million a year from the school.

So how did Harvard, which is basically the Exxon-Mobil of higher education (minus the accusations of price-gouging), react to that proposal? In a word, conservatively.

"You'd be taxing success here," Kevin Casey, Harvard's associate vice president for government, community and public affairs complained in a quote that will soon be framed and hung in my office. "Over time, this would put us at a real competitive disadvantage, which would drastically hurt the Commonwealth."

No Kevin, you're looking at it the wrong way. These politicians aren't trying to hurt you, they're just trying to level the playing field. Greater Shrewsbury Liberal Arts Community Technical College for Women down the road is struggling and here you are making billions. If they could just redistribute some of your profits to GSLACTCFW then everybody would be happy.

Does anyone else find it ironic that universities overflowing with liberal professors (a 2005 study revealed that 72 percent of professors view themselves that way) embrace conservative values only when it suits them?

As a conservative, I don't believe in taxing anyone just because they have a lot of money or are an easy target. That applies to individuals, businesses and universities. I believe that taxing success discourages success, and that's not what America stands for.

But I also believe in something else: consistency and accountability. And that's where most of our colleges and universities fail miserably.

Besides, Harvard, you're in the wealthiest 1 percent. Isn't it time to help those who are less fortunate?[/quote]