Perhaps you were among those who celebrated investor and philanthropist Robert F. Smith for doing this:
Smith surprised the Morehouse College class of 2019 with a special graduation gift: He’s going to pay all of their student loan debt. … His gift to the nearly 400 graduating seniors is about $40 million, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
(USA Today, May 20, 2019)
But I saw no reason to celebrate. In fact, viral media coverage gave me the impression that the graduation ceremony was more about glorifying Mr. Smith’s prevailing vanity than celebrating these students’ milestone achievements.
Of course, I suspect this is precisely what Smith wanted. Because he could easily have made this gift at another time. That way he would not have upstaged the graduating seniors – not just at Morehouse but at every other college in the country this year.
More to the point, though, this is almost as troubling as cheering a yacht owner for coming upon a sinking dinghy in the Mediterranean and rescuing one African migrant while leaving 99 to die. African migrants should not have to depend on a yacht owner happening by to avoid drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. Likewise, college students should not have to depend on a philanthropist getting an honorary degree to avoid drowning in a sea of debt.
Instead, tax reform should compel rich investors like Smith to pay at least the same share of their income in taxes as their administrative staff do. If that happens, we’d be able to fund programs like this:
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced a bill last week, which would abolish tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities for students from households making $125,000 or less per year, and would make community college tuition-free for students from all income levels. …
‘I’ll tell you how we’re going to pay for it’ [he said]. … ‘We’re going to put a speculation tax on Wall Street.’
(USA Today, April 17, 2017)
Frankly, the rich would truly earn the reputational goodwill they covet by
- lobbying the government to implement tax reform to effectuate such fundamental fairness and public purpose;
- joining Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates in The Giving Pledge to donate at least half of their wealth to philanthropy during their lifetime or at death.
Apropos of which, it might be helpful to know that the $40 million Smith pledged to those Morehouse seniors does not amount to even 1 percent of his wealth, which Forbes estimates at $5 billion.
In any event, the federal government has a greater compelling interest in tuition control than state governments have in rent control. It clearly makes more sense to deflate tuition costs than for rich people to inflate their reputations by paying off the debt tuition causes.
With all due respect to Trump, I can think of no better way to make America great again than to make college affordable again. This is why I celebrate the colleges that are following Harvard’s lead in doing this:
Once you are admitted to Harvard, we work closely with your family to ensure you can afford to come here. Because we seek the best students regardless of their ability to pay, we are committed to meeting 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for all four years.
(Harvard College Griffin Financial Aid Office)
That said, lest you think I’m all about hating on Smith, I heartily applaud him for using his influence to
Help 1,000 students score paid internships.
The program [internX] is helping ‘rising sophomores with at least a 2.8 GPA from ethnically underrepresented groups’ land an eight-week summer internship in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
AT&T, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Deloitte, Citi and Vista Equity Partners are reportedly among the companies that have pledged to take on internX candidates.
(The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 30, 2019)
Bravo, Mr. Smith!
Note: If you’re wondering what informs my provocative title, I refer you to such commentaries as “Leaked Panama Papers Affirm more than Reveal Offshore Banking Secrets,” April 6, 2016, and “Paradise Papers Out Elizabeth II as Tax-Dodging Queen,” November 7, 2017.
Related commentaries:
Africans dying in Mediterranean…
Davos on charity…
Panama papers…
Paradise papers…