Posted on 09/01/2016 8:03:43 AM PDT by Academiadotorg
It was while attending my alma mater--the University of Scranton--three and a half decades ago that I began questioning the economic value of universities.
What intrigued me was "Da U" claiming that it helped fuel the local economy, even while America recovered from a recession and Scranton never did. Thirty-five years later, as America struggles through another Depression, and Scranton continues to lose large chunks of its population to more promising locales, "Da U" is still at it.
On their web site they claim that:
• "Each year, the University offers more than 100 free events to the public." This would be an upgrade. I don’t remember one.
• "The University had a $282,932,643 regional economic impact in 2013-14 – $5.7 billion since 1980, including capital projects." Remember, both income and spending have an "impact." They don’t mention which side this impact is on.
• "Students spend an average of $1.2 million off campus each month." Ah yes, and I remember what they spend it on. Well do I recall one of my townie neighbors noting, "Well, it's Friday night, here come the beer cans."
• "University employees and alumni make up 9% of the City’s workforce and nearly 1 in 10 City residents are students, alumni or employees." Note that they don't break it down between private and public, nor show what portion of the university's student body comes from those same sources.
• "Last year, the University voluntarily contributed $175,000 to the City and $58,500 to Lackawanna County – $3.1 million & $1.4 million respectively since 1983." But how does that compare to all the levies lost to the university’s non-taxable property?
• "The University committed $3.16 million to beautify Mulberry Street." And guess what street borders the university and what part they beautified?
• "The Scranton Small Business Development Center provided 506 consulting hours to 104 clients in the City of Scranton in 2013-14, with a total of over 11,000 hours in the past 34 years." And what advice did they give?
• "The University has invested in more than 30 major construction projects since 1980." Guess where they are?
University employ and create leftist socialists. Ultimately that will lock up any economic engine.
It’s hard to tell unless there is an example of a University leaving a town and the financial impact.
I do know the mayor of Boston is always complaining about universities buying up swaths of private land and losing the property tax revenue. Take away hospitals and universities out of Boston however and a large chunk of the employment base and economy is gone. The only reason they stay is because they are tax exempt.
A local economy can really only prosper when it can produce something of value that is sold elsewhere. In other words, in order for a company or institution to be a net positive to the local economy it has to sell something to buyers who live somewhere else.
In effect, a company or institution can also be a net positive to the local economy if the "something" it sells to buyers who live somewhere else is a product or service that draws the buyers there. This is how tourism works. I don't think anyone would argue that Mount Rushmore, for example, is not a contributor to local economic growth.
With a university, you get a perfect storm of sorts that makes them strong contributors to the local economy. Not only does a university draw "customers" from other areas, but it draws customers who are willing to borrow beyond their means to finance their business activities. And even then, if the "customers" can't afford to do business in your area there is always a Federal or state government that may be willing to subsidize their presence at the university.
I’m familiar with Scranton. If U-Scranton went away, Scranton would be an even bigger hole than it is right now.
Top Ten Employers in Allegheny County, PA (Pittsburgh):
10) Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (state government)
9) Carnegie-Mellon University
8) BNY Mellon
7) County of Allegheny (local government)
6) West Penn-Allegheny Health System
5) Giant Eagle
4) PNC
3) U.S. Federal Government
2) University of Pittsburgh
1) UPMC
*UPMC stands for University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
then maybe they should give businesses a tax holiday
Universities are becoming government money machines for worthless drivel. No university administrator values content - only PROCESS, because documenting those processes enables them to convince stupid government bureaucrats that “learning is taking place.”
Faculty members in chemistry, physics, finance, other hard subjects that have some value in the marketplace are dunned while faculty members in education, minority and gender studies or social justice are enriched.
Government money has destroyed the greatest system of higher education on earth. John Dewey’s dream has been realized: reduce universities to training schools for assembly-line worker bees who can be totally controlled by statists. The way it has been accomplished is by university administrations a-whoring after Uncle Sam’s easy money.
Thanks for letting me vent after thirty years in higher ed.
“The only reason they stay is because they are tax exempt.”
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That makes no sense——they would be tax exempt even if they moved.
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But very often university towns seem to have a stable economy with not much growth until people decide to start businesses there. But if everyone wants to just get out then people aren't going to be starting businesses.
There seem to be two sorts of growth that occur near universities:
1. People just like the atmosphere of a university town, so more people settle there or remain after graduation or come back after retirement. Shops, restaurants, etc. spring up to serve these people.
2. Technology developed at the university is the basis of startup companies. Or consulting by professors in certain fields enhances local businesses.
I was talking with a professor at a university which is located in a remote area. She advises farmers on how to enhance their crops. So while the university town is never going to be a massive growth location, it is contributing in various ways to a better economy than would exist otherwise. The area near a university often seems to have a better economy than other places not too far away.
you are welcome to vent anytime.
With the exceptions of a few production methods created by university researchers, and the odd campus ice cream, meat, cheese shops, no university creates wealth.
No service industry creates wealth. One might reduce expenses through better services, but universities, like governments, merely reallocate or concentrate wealth taken from others. My northern Virginia suburb is a great example. Many industrial companies have offices here, but nearly none of them make anything here, and the offices wouldn’t be here either if DC wasn’t a short drive away. In spite of the lack of wealth creators here, five of the richest counties in America circle DC.
You walk down sidewalks in D.C. and you can just feel the money bubbling up through the cracks at you.
Money that was all stolen from productive Americans.
Likely no one does anything really productive within a 70 mile radius.
When they were training doctors, veternarians, engineers, HVAC repair people, accountants, yes.
When training social activists, administrators and entitled layabouts, no.
Moving costs money. Industry mostly moves for lower tax rates. If you pay no taxes the negatives out-weigh the positives for reasons to move.
I am rapidly coming to the same conclusion.
I do know they contribute to debt. Our collage town has been on a building rampage. They have torn down most of the student crap shacks and replaced them with huge apartment complexes. At least one of the towers is suppose to have luxury accommodations. They have been busy building hotels, strip malls, burger joints, etc. The football team better start winning, or they are toast.
I lived for a time in Hillsdale, Michigan.
Other than the college there WAS no local economy, so far as I could determine.
The university and hospitals are the biggest employers in the area. If the university didn’t exist, the local economy would likely be farm related.
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