[disambiguation]

Recent events alone do not fully represent the affairs of the past 2+ decades. Community, state, ivy, all levels were gorging themselves on federal funding and endowments. I have no comment on the current admin, but blatantly inefficient use of funds is an understatement.

[joe5150]

What does "gorging themselves on endowments" even mean? If they did that, they wouldn't be very endowed in quick order.

[eszed]

Charitably, they may mean "the proceeds from their endowments" (or maybe "engorging their endowments", if that's even a proper use of the word), but I think that's a weak point. Proportionally very, very few institutions have significant endowments.

[disambiguation]

You're both wrong. I'm saying they're engorged AND well endowed. Many consider this a strong point.

[eszed]

Oh, yeah. Some certainly are. I think they're the subset towards whom Summers is addressing his argument, in the article under discussion.