Grandstanding rather than policy making

An obscure (who deserves to remain so)congressman from Vermont would like to tax endowments of universities. His initial target has been "wealthy" endowments but his purpose is broader. He has, at various times, proposed to tax all endowments over $1 billion at another he proposed to withdraw the exempt status of donations which go to colleges which are not spending in a way that the congressman thinks is appropriate.

Ultimately someone should buy this guy a copy of DeTocqueville's Democracy in America. One of the key principles of that classic was DeTocqueville's recognition that all public institutions do not have to be governmental. Welch seems to have a very limited idea of how endowments function and a determined unwillingness to learn more. Part of this should lay at the doors of colleges and universities who have not been very adept at explaining how endowments function. But one would expect that a Member of Congress would have at least a basic understanding of the institutions in society which make our country unique.

What is the purpose of endowments and who should decide? Mr. Welch thinks he or the federal government can do a better job than the trustees whose responsibility it is to manage these resources for the future. Take a look at the Social Security trust fund to judge the correctness of his assumption. Welch should be reminded of the Dartmouth College case which happened in the early 19th century when some idiotic state legislators thought it would be a good idea to manage Dartmouth College. The courts then wisely rejected that power grab just as Congress should reject this current day incarnation of idiocy.