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Of all the colleges in the world to have problems in such times, Harvard is the one I have the hardest time finding sympathy for. Most schools wish they took in
by teeja 17y ago
Of all the colleges in the world to have problems in such times, Harvard is the one I have the hardest time finding sympathy for. Most schools wish they took in annually what Harvard earns in interest.
So many of us are paying for the massive screw-up in so many ways. Yet, I'm seeing few signs that anyone is seriously thinking about how to keep it from happening again. The subject seems to be taboo ... even though noone's reporting that torches and tar are getting hard to find.
- dantheman 17y agoThe fundamental problem is that the US dollar loses value at such a rapid pace that riskier and riskier investments are required to maintain a decent rate of return. The way to prevent this is to stop inflating the currency.
- hga 17y agoNot at all: Harvard got used to fantastic returns in an unusual period ("genius is a rising market"), got into spending patterns that depended on this continuing (what this article focuses on), too many people at Harvard got envious of the people making these returns and forced them out, then investing was left on autopilot and they crashed in what looks to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. (This article is very shallow, look for the _Vanity Fair_ article for a much better picture.)
- dantheman 17y agoI've read that article; I was talking about the general trend of investing and why they were chasing returns that had such inherent risks.