Nice to know in this time of austerity.
"Research giants win on federal funding; Fend off US bid to cut overhead payments" by Tracy Jan | Globe Staff, March 18, 2013
WASHINGTON — Harvard, MIT, and a coalition of other powerhouse research institutions have thwarted a reform proposal by the Obama administration to slash the amount of government research money each school receives for overhead costs.
The result is that about $10 billion a year, roughly a quarter of the nation’s university research budget, will continue to be channeled into such things as administrative salaries and building depreciation instead of directly into scientific studies.
I think it is PRETTY CLEAR WHO THIS TAX SYSTEM is WORKING FOR, Americans.
Critics say the system lacks accountability, unfairly rewards the biggest schools, and is an ineffective use of taxpayer research dollars in an era of fiscal austerity....
“Harvard is taking the government to the cleaners,” said Richard Vedder, director of the Washington-based Center for College Affordability and an economics professor at Ohio University, a public college that receives overhead compensation at the rate of 48.5 percent.
Related: Harvard Cutting Health Benefits
No money channeled there.
“The amount of taxpayer money that goes to support these private schools is immense, and of course, Boston is at the epicenter of this. The federal government should not be in the business of subsidizing building construction or administrative aggrandizement.”
But that is exactly what it's business is: send tax loot to the elite and load the rest of us down with debt.
All research institutions get additional money tacked on to federal science and medical grants to help pay for general overhead. But federal rules allow institutions to deposit those payments into their general budgets, with no requirement they be used to directly support scientific endeavors.
Translation: It's a $LU$H FUND!
Then think of all the the requirements they put on you to access the services you have already paid for, taxpayers.
The Obama administration sought to change the system last year, saying it was considering a flat rate, at an unspecified level, for all institutions. But after successful lobbying by large universities to protect their bigger share of the pie, the administration abandoned the effort.
I'm so glad we have a president who stands up to wealth and money, aren't you?
Instead he is going to GUT SOCIAL SECURITY!
Instead, it now suggests institutions should be given a pathway to lock in their existing, higher reimbursement rates for up to four years.
Harvard and other university officials argue that the overhead rates they have negotiated with government agencies reflect real costs to the university, and do not come close to covering the actual amounts that universities spend on building maintenance, staff, and energy costs in pursuit of groundbreaking research.
Whatever. When money junkies inhabit the high halls of ejerkashun then this country is sunk.
“Capping rates basically means you’re not going to reflect the actual cost of the research,” said Kevin Casey, an associate vice president who oversees Harvard’s government relations in Washington. “If the government had to create its own facilities, hire the researchers, staff and train students, it would be a more costly venture than to purchase research where it is now.”
He's a lobbyi$t.
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A Health and Human Services official who is not authorized to speak to the media, said, “Universities were too powerful. In a nutshell, the lobbyists killed it.”
Along with the American form of government.
Demands for a fairer system have been issued for years, the inequities cited in numerous reports. Vedder and other critics contend the varying overhead reimbursement rates contribute to a widening gap between rich and poor schools.
It is ACROSS the WHOLE SOCIETY, folks!
And smaller, less prestigious schools around the country are tired of being shortchanged, particularly when the prime beneficiaries are extremely wealthy schools like Harvard, which has a $30.7 billion endowment....
Welcome to AmeriKa.
Competition is fierce. A cottage industry of consultants, accountants, and attorneys has exploded to help schools maximize the amount of money that can be squeezed from the federal government....
Except in THIS CASE the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is TAXPAYERS!!!!!
Universities and the federal government became partners in research after World War II. MIT was one of the biggest beneficiaries....
No wonder my agenda-pu$hing war paper loves M.I.T.
Related: Noam Chomsky: Controlled Asset Of The New World Order
Works at M.I.T., does he?
Overhead cost rates came under congressional scrutiny in 1992, when federal auditors discovered that dozens of universities, including Harvard and MIT, had inappropriately billed the government for items unrelated to research such as sports tickets, parties, even a university yacht. The universities ended up reimbursing the government a portion of those costs. The rules about how such rates are calculated were subsequently tightened, and some universities’ rates, which once soared into the 90 percent range, were lowered....
Well, it obviou$ly didn't work.
So this has been a PROBLEM for a LONG TIME NOW?
--more--"
Yeah, never mind about those soaring tuition costs, either.
Related:
Researching the Budget Cuts
The Mendacious Obama Administration
Budgeting My Posts
Sunday Globe Specials: Fiscal Cliff Fraud
Related:
"Hagel defends military cutbacks; Says laws have forced reduction" by Donna Cassata | Associated Press, April 12, 2013
WASHINGTON — In fact, the budget proposal reflects a degree of wishful thinking on the part of the Pentagon....
The proposal calls for a base Pentagon budget of $526.6 billion — $52 billion more than the $475 billion level established by the spending cuts set in the budget agreement between Obama and congressional Republicans in August 2011.
That is such a lowball number it's ridiculous (and that was two years ago).
But hey, sometimes one must think of the greater good.
Fiscal conservatives have accepted the cuts as a sure-fire way to reduce the federal deficit, and they have shown no inclination to abandon the cuts despite the outcry of defense hawks and senior Pentagon officials who fear an erosion of United States military might.
We spend more on "defense" than the next nine nations combined -- and they are all allies!
The budget plan also includes an $88.5 billion placeholder for additional war costs in Afghanistan.
Excuse me? They are going to SET ASIDE $90 BILLION IN CASE SOMETHING HAPPENS in Afghanistan while the administration is CUTTING SOCIAL SECURITY!?!?
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Obama’s hired gun to slash the defense budget....
Pffft! Yeah, nice cutting.
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I love deceptive headlines, don't you?
Related: Annual Fleet Week celebration in NYC to be scaled down
Globe $ure ha$ an unu$ual focu$ on military cuts, 'eh?
Tennessee Valley Authority may be sold to reduce debt
Didn't take care of the electrical grid, huh?
