In NYC, NYU and Columbia University are increasingly owning larger parts of Manhattan because they as universities have massive property tax exemptions. There is a big push right now to terminate those exemptions which currently amount to over $300 million per year.
At the same time they are getting these tax cuts, the CUNY public university system is struggling financially and getting budget cuts.
there are large positive externalities to major research unis. imposing a $300m/yr tax because of anti-ivy sentiment means net fewer researchers, grad students, funded residencies, etc.
do people just no longer believe in win wins? if someone else is successful or impactful they must be taken down?
It mainly means fewer bureaucrats and administrators and more luxurious campus facilities. Which is where all the growth is in university spending these days.
Yes, but the majority of the funding goes to the increasingly bloated institutional overhead. NYU takes 61% of research grants [1], while Columbia takes 64.5% [2]. That doesn't include other fees that PIs might pay in addition. These percentages keep going up year-over-year and are even into the 70% range at some institutions.
At the same time they are getting these tax cuts, the CUNY public university system is struggling financially and getting budget cuts.