Wotka World Wide

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Columbia University strongarms residents out of Harlem

Columbia University seeks to expand, and their chosen site is in Harlem. They have spent years acquiring properties there, while expelling the tenants and neglecting upkeep, in the hopes of having the region blighted, so that they can use the power of the state to push out the other property owners. The designation has now occurred, and hearings are underway regarding the seizure of land by eminent domain ("hearings" are a generous assessment; property owners have fifteen minutes to state their case). Of course, there is nothing really stopping them, especially after the Supreme Court rubber-stamped the process whereby large entities like cities, corporations, and universities seize the land of the rightful owners under dubious "blighting" and then using them for their own business purposes. This happened in the Kelo v. City of New London case in 2005, when it was a tight 5-4 majority in favor of the city and the corporation, against the landowners. Now, you might think this is something that those friends of big business, the Republicans, would support, but in actuality it was the four conservative Justices on the court opposing the taking, while the five liberal justices happily agreed to take a resident's house that had been well-maintained to give the land to Pfizer, which was seeking to expand. New York City is using this case as precedent when it condemns land in Harlem for Columbia. Fortunately, Americans have other ways of protecting their rights, and many state legislatures have passed laws out-lawing or restricting the practice. Let us hope New York sees the light and follows suit, although I won't be holding my breath.

Large universities usually get what they want, which is why I think they ought to lose some of their tax exemption benefits, especially considering the spiraling cost of higher education. Administrators make salaries like corporate officers running these entities, and they have no incentive to cut costs for students, making it that much harder for kids like the ones in Harlem to even consider going to a school like Columbia, where it can cost over $200,000 to educate one student and house them for four years without a scholarship. Congress has even hinted that if big universities don't start using more of their massive endowments to lower costs, they will consider changing their tax status. This has prompted some schools to open the coffers and hold up their tuition's rise, but not enough to stop the big boys from raising rates exorbitantly every year. Why they need the government's help to seize land from poorer residents and business owners is beyond me.

1 Comments:

  • At September 03, 2008 10:25 AM , Blogger andewot said...

    Let's not forget that it is a growing trend among universities to provide free tuition to individuals whose parent(s) makes less than 60K or 70K. I wonder who ends up paying for that.

     

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home