Another CMCer Reviews Liberal Fascism

John Wilson, a former editor for The Claremont Independent, wrote an exciting review of Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism for The New York Post. He earned a mention on the blog for the book.

I reviewed the book for The Claremont Independent and even earned a mention on The Corner, National Review's blog. Both Wilson and I agree that the book is excellent, but I thought I would share with you a few thoughts I had about Wilson's blog piece and New York Post review.

Wilson's chief criticism is that Goldberg doesn't go into foreign policy enough. Wilson is certainly right -- so to speak -- but the book's power comes more from its focus on domestic policy. After all, despite the occasional obligatory reference to stop genocide somewhere at some indefinite time and the absolutely essential declaration that the Bush regime promoted instability -- as if any of the Middle Eastern countries were ever stable -- then the Democrats have really given the foreign policy issue over to the Republicans.

Wilson hints at this point in his blog, but it bears underscoring: there really is another book to be had here that examines the Wilsonian impulses to fix the world with the Far Left's quixotic (and ultimately unproductive) efforts to promote social justice at the expense of economic liberty.

The Secret to Pomona's Amazing Endowment Performance

Pomona College is one of the richest colleges in the country, according to a new report issued by two days ago by the National Association of College and University Business Officers. The report, and the politics surrounding the affluence of nation's 76 richest colleges, can be found here. Interestingly, the colleges earned a market-beating 21.3 percent

Given this affluence, I find it interesting that the political will exists for American taxpayers to continue to subsidize the colleges through federal student loans well below market rates, but I imagine that that issue has more to do with the higher education lobby than with what the American people truly know about higher education.

In any event, the article mentions, Carlene Miller, who serves as treasurer of Pomona's $1.8 billion endowment, and who explains the reason Pomona earned a 17 percent return in 2007. To put that in perspective, it's considered doing well if you get a return of 7 or 8 percent on your portfolio.

Carlene Miller, who as treasurer of Pomona College oversees a $1.8 billion endowment, says that the Southern California school's diversification into alternative investments such as timberlands, gold, and commercial real estate has buffered the effects of recent market declines. In the year ending December 31, Pomona earned 17 percent, she noted. But the recent declines in the values of all types of foreign and domestic investments may signal an end to the years of double-digit growth for endowments, she predicts. "We wouldn't be surprised or unhappy" with future annual returns in the 7-to-10 percent range, she says.

Isn't it interesting that Pomona, which boasts students and faculty who agitate for fair trade this or that, should be heavily invested in obviously unsustainable markets, like gold and commercial real estate? Gold mining, much though I approve of it, simply isn't sustainable. The question those activists could be asking is whether or not those investments are good for the school's international reputation.

I, of course, don't give a damn about wishy-washy concepts like "corporate social responsibility" and subscribe hook, line, and sinker for the Carl Schramm school of thought that every entrepreneur is a social capitalist.

Given how poor the average American is at investing his or her money, I advocate a different proposal more in line with capitalism than eco-socialism: Let school money managers manage the money of alumni (or anyone else).

They way it would work is the following: alumni could pay into a fund and the college's money managers would invest that money and try to turn a profit. Although colleges would be forbidden from taking a fee -- that tends to complicate that pesky issue of nonprofit status -- in lieu of a fee, the college could take that fee and put it (or any amount over that) back into the endowment of the college.

True, the libertarian in me bristles at the notion of university controls post-graduation, but if students voluntarily partake in that endowment growing fund, where's the harm?

Yes, it is very unfair to private money managers who could theoretically be undercut by the private, tax-exemptive college money managers, but that's an easy fix with legislation. (I know, I know, I shouldn't advocate that, but this is strictly hypothetical.)

Admittedly, I'm not the first person to come up with this solution, but that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve repetition.