was receiving for promising to pay off the debt for all of Morehouse College’s graduates in the 2019 class. In a begrudging acknowledgement that Smith’s gift, estimated at $40 million dollars, “was an act of generosity,” thedevoted most of its ink to the complaint that his philanthropy functioned to mask the failure of a tax policy that benefited him, much like the earlier example of Andrew Carnegie giving away millions to build libraries across the country.
And what if that loophole were closed, and the government reaped the more than $15 billion it’s estimated would be generated over a decade? Would the money go toward making a college education more affordable? Would it be used to boost Pell grants or other investments that could increase the equity or improve the quality of education? Or would it go toward building a wall on the Southern border? Or throwing a bigger July 4...
Robert Smith’s one gift won’t significantly reduce student debt, but philanthropy dedicated to that purpose, one institution at a time, could. Imagine if college presidents across the nation persuaded their donors to pledge their billions in gifts to endowed scholarships for financially needy students rather than to build indoor football practice facilities or lazy rivers in student recreation centers.
And no one, not unscrupulous parents (we certainly met a few on the news lately) and not “financial aid” officers care because they are not the ones left holding the bag...
I was flabergasted when my daughter went to FSU (100% paid by me) and many of her fellow students took lavish loans amounts to pay for vacations or buy expensive clothes and shoes. Give me a break. That dog don’t hunt.
The tuition loan problem will never go away until better controls are in place to screen out real needs from wanton greed. When I went to college partially supported by Pell Grants I never had “extra money” to pay car payments, apartment rent or take a “gap semesters ein Europe”
I would agree and disagree. Criticizing him specifically for that gift is somewhat raw. However, that we should beg for money for the next 10 to 1,000 years seems like a slippery slope to… Where we are: Waiting for billionaires to save us from their iniquity.
Forbes gets everything wrong that doesn't involve public services being confined to the few crumbs that are thrown by rich philanthropists
I applaud you for this article! It amazes me that a good deed was criticized! He blessed and touched lives in many ways. The critics sometimes forget they haven’t invested a dime in helping people who are really in need!
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