Tag Archives: Inequality

Are Universities Turning into Hedge Funds?

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A recent article from The Nation claims that university endowments are being heavily invested in hedge funds. This “intersection between higher education and high finance” means that university money is torn between paying hedge fund managers and being spent on actual education resources. This criticism was first brought up regarding Harvard investing 15% of its $38 billion endowment in hedge funds. In reality, public universities are looking to hedge funds as well now that state aid is decreasing. Hedge funds utilize high risk methods for large returns, and often operate in convoluted overseas structures to avoid taxes. Investing endowments in risky hedge funds rather than investing Continue reading Are Universities Turning into Hedge Funds?→

How Should Governments Deal With Poverty?

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With all the recent political debate over food stamp cuts and raising the minimum wage, the U.S. government is facing difficult questions of not only how to provide assistance to those living in poverty, but also how much. Brazil, on the other hand, is taking a much simpler approach: Just give people money. According to an article in the Washington Post, in 2002, Brazil began simply giving cash, loaded onto a card, to those living in poverty. Currently, 14 million people in Brazil are receiving these cash transfers. There is only one catch: these benefits are contingent on children in Continue reading How Should Governments Deal With Poverty?→