No one is impressed by a rich man crying poor. Least of all from colleges and universities who have raised their tuition at double the rate of inflation for 3 decades running, to say nothing of the fees.
However, it is quite clear that Higher Ed, with Harvard University in the lead, are now taking a page out of the finance industry's book, who were so successful at bringing our nation to it's knees last fall.
Please come to Studenloanjustice.Org to find out more about the student debt scam being perpetrated against middle and lower class ciizens.
Last Fall, banks, and bankers uttered phrases ("crisis", "emergency", "recovery" etc) designed to instill fear and panic in the public, only to be handed (after a weekend of consultation) far, far more than enough cash to cover whatever their losses were, real or imagined. Through it all, the citizens never saw tangible evidence of the bankers suffering any damage. They observed that commercial and personal loans had gotten way, way more expensive to be sure. They also saw that the misfortunate citizens perilously close to losing their homes at the outset were equally distressed after the Banks and Insurers had been paid for their reckless loans, and hugely irresponsible gambling ventures. But the bankers, insurers, and short sellers were obviously relieved (and suspiciously giddy in some instances) after the "rescue" , so whatever the problem was to begin with (still not sure), the avalanche of money obviously solved it where it matter most.
In higher education, there are similarities to the runup of this debacle that are too obvious (and suspicious) not to point out. The State of Washington, for instance declared a "State of Emergency" early in the year as a first step, jacked tuition by record margins that broke all records and precedent (for the first time in history, four of Washington's six baccalaureate institutions will receive more operating revenue from tuition and fees than from state appropriations. this year), and threatened staff reductions. Meanwhile, nary a word was spoken about compensation reductions by the college president, or the top administrators, with their obscene salaries.
Harvard was not to be outdone, clearly. After all, their incomprehensibly large endowment had decreased from $37 Billion (roughly the GDP of Luxembourg) to a merely "Bahrain GDP-sized" $26 Billion (on paper, mind you). Clearly, it was time to roll up the sleeves, and walk the talk about sacrifice, and so the university laid off some 275 staff members, sending shockwaves across academia, and inspiring emulation by uncreative "Me Too " universities, like Yale. Cuts of President Faust's pay? No...not germane to the discussion, apparently. Cuts to the top paid administrators? Didn't hear anything on that...but still...the appearance of sacrifice was incontrovertible- just look at the press it generated. This was far too widely reported not to be real, right?
Make no mistake: to the misfortunate staff who were thrown into the streets with 100% cuts in pay, the sacrifice was undeniable, and those people deserve respect for the loss that was unceremoniously stuck to them and their families, and the unpleasant struggles that they now are faced with.
But Real? Assuming that each of the laid off staff made $150,000 (a very generous salary where I come from), the savings realized by the university's drastic and dramatic action will be, at most, $41 million. This is equivalent to roughly 0.4% of the loss to the university's endowment.
0.4% not 4%, which would at least be noticeable with the naked eye. "point-four-percent"
So I ask again: were these layoffs real reactions to real financial circumstances? Or does Harvard leadership simply comprise arrogant, elitist pricks willing to throw large numbers of colleagues (however low level) under the proverbial bus for effect, as it appears? I wouldn't let people like that lead a boy scout troop, let alone a major university.
In fact, I have yet to hear EVEN ONE college president volunteer a significant cut in his/her own pay (significant is 25% or more). NOT ONE.
My advice to academia: if you want to sell sacrifice to the public, hire a former president who was over 18 during the depression if you can find one. He would, hopefully, have at least some concept of leadership and sacrifice existing in the same sentient being.
Until I see evidence of TRUE sacrifice at the highest levels of academia to accompany the increased student debt loads being assigned to students, (dramatic and unnecessary layoffs notwithstanding), you can expect similar comments from people like me, and a growing segment of the population who are increasingly disgusted with what we are seeing from our nations financial, and now academic, institutions.