Education
Waste of the Day: Elite Universities Received $45 Billion In Public Funds Since 2018
Elite universities have received $45 billion in government contracts and tax breaks over the last five years.
Topline: You might expect that your tax dollars are being used to fund public universities, and that elite, private institutions are able to hold their own with little government support.
That’s not the case. Auditors at OpenTheBooks.com found that 10 of America’s wealthiest colleges have received $45 billion in federal money since 2018. That figure includes $33 billion in contracts and grants and $12 billion in tax breaks.
The list includes the eight schools of the Ivy League, as well as Stanford University and Northwestern University.
Key facts: The 10 universities collectively received more money from the federal government than from undergraduate tuition.
Stanford University benefited the most, taking in $7 billion in taxpayer money. Columbia University was the biggest recipient of direct grants, earning $5 billion.
Because the universities are considered charitable institutions, they pay just a 1.4% tax rate on increases to their endowments, instead of the typical 20% capital gain tax for wealthy individuals. This policy benefited Harvard University and Yale University the most, since their endowments both increased by more than $11 billion between 2018 and 2022.
Some of the grants were used to fund research studies with arguable merit. One Stanford study use almost $2 million to analyze how college students are affected by retail marijuana. Yale used $600,000 to look at the “impacts of mobile technology on work, gender gaps, and norms.”
Background: The $45 billion that the 10 universities received since 2018 is larger than any U.S. public universities’ entire endowment. The University of Texas led public schools with a $43 billion endowment, as of 2021.
Five of the 10 universities included in the OpenTheBooks audit were also among the top 10 in the country at generating private donations in 2018, right before the audit began. So, it’s not as if they were strapped for cash.
Auditors found no significant difference in the amount of federal money doled out to elite institutions between the administrations of Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
Many elite institutions have come under fire in recent months, with some top Republicans claiming that the schools are spreading antisemitism. Trump called for an increase in taxes on these universities’ endowments, while presidential candidate and former SC Gov. Nikki Haley said federal funds should stop being dispersed to these schools.
In December, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) introduced a bill that would levy a 35% tax on any college endowments above $10 billion.
Summary: Even with recent controversy, it’s still unknown when or if federal funding to elite, private universities will decrease. It’s hard to ignore the fact that these colleges are at the forefront of both the educational and scientific fields, but the impact on taxpayers also can’t be dismissed.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.
Adam Andrzejewski (say: Angie-eff-ski) was the CEO/founder of OpenTheBooks.com. Before dedicating his life to public service, Adam co-founded HomePages Directories, a $20 million publishing company (1997-2007). His works have been featured on the BBC, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, C-SPAN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, FOX News, CNN, National Public Radio (NPR), Forbes, Newsweek, and many other national media.
Today, OpenTheBooks.com is the largest private repository of U.S. public-sector spending. Mission: post "every dime, online, in real time." In 2022, OpenTheBooks.com captured nearly all public expenditures in the country, including nearly all disclosed federal government spending; 50 of 50 state checkbooks; and 25 million public employee salary and pension records from 50,000 public bodies across America.
The group's aggressive transparency and forensic auditing of government spending has led to the assembly of grand juries, indictments, and successful prosecutions; congressional briefings, hearings, and subpoenas; Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits; Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports; federal legislation; and much more.
Our Honorary Chairman - In Memoriam is U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, MD.
Andrzejewski's federal oversight work was included in the President's Budget To Congress FY2021. The budget cited his organization by name, bullet-pointed their findings, and footnoted/hyperlinked to their report.
Posted on YouTube, Andrzejewski's presentation, The Depth of the Swamp, at the Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar 2020 in Naples, Florida received 3.8 million views.
Andrzejewski has spoken at the Columbia School of Journalism, Harvard Law School and the law schools at Georgetown and George Washington regarding big data journalism. As a senior policy contributor at Forbes, Adam had nearly 20 million pageviews on 206 published investigations. In 2022, investigative fact-finding on Dr. Fauci's finances led to his cancellation at Forbes.
In 2022, Andrzejewski did 473 live television and radio interviews across broadcast, major cable platforms, and radio shows. Andrzejewski is the author of The Waste of the Day column at Real Clear Policy. The column is syndicated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, owners of nearly 200 ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates across USA.
Andrzejewski passed away in his sleep at his home in in Hinsdale, Illinois, on August 18, 2024. He is survived by his wife Kerry and three daughters. He also served as a lector at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church and finished the Chicago Marathon eight times (PR 3:58.49 in 2022).
Waste of the Day articles published after August 18, 2024 are considered posthumous publications.
-
Civilization3 days ago
CHAPTER 40: The Art of Using Technologies to Alter Human Cognition – Space Is No Longer the Final Frontier—Reality Is*
-
Civilization4 days ago
Trump – the choice is clear
-
Civilization5 days ago
West Virginia firing a preemptive shot?
-
Civilization3 days ago
Gretchen Whitmer creates perverse spectacle
-
Civilization4 days ago
The anti-free speech movement
-
Executive4 days ago
The Tax Cut Tour: Trump Targets Voters With More Breaks
-
Civilization1 day ago
Reply to Michael Walzer on Israel’s Pager Attack and Just War Theory
-
Christianity Today3 days ago
Hearing The Voice Of God In The Midst Of The World