Inundated by negative news about how problematic American culture has become, it’s hard to escape the fact that the ultra-wealthy have assumed control — we are now a plutocracy.

Billionaires now want to dictate how we are governed, how we are taught, who deserves opportunity, what religions are acceptable rather than let a dynamic marketplace of ideas and energy take its course. For them, money should dictate change.

There are multiple billionaires in the Trump administration, with countless other
billionaire “advisors.” A case in point is the latest government attempt to bend our
internationally esteemed university system to its cultural goals with Trump’s university
“compact.”

The irony is breathtaking. People who openly state that “government is the problem,” who are trying to reduce the government’s role in our lives, who claim that government’s role in DEI programs was badly misguided, who demonize/defund institutions (NHS, IRS, HHS, FBI, etc.) now are suggesting that university reform can only occur with government involvement?

The billionaire Marc Rowan, an architect of this compact, wrote in the press that universities are unlikely to make cultural change on their own, “This means that course correction must come from the outside. Given the enormous investment of taxpayer money, it’s appropriate that the federal government be involved.”

What? Sounds like China?

I am proud of MIT for not going along. Let’s continue to have a free market for the best ideas. They will find an audience even if the incumbent government doesn’t agree. Today’s culture wasn’t created in a vacuum — everyone contributed.

Jeff Gardner
Cumberland