That is Lynne Munson’s question in this op-ed in today’s USA Today.

I definitely do not want to see the federal government intrude further into higher education by regulating percentages of endowments that must be spent and how.

I also don’t care for the suggestion that really rich schools could eliminate the need for tuition entirely if they devoted enough of their endowment income to it. If students and their families aren’t spending very much for a college education, the temptation will be stronger for the students to slack off.

Only a small percentage of students in America attend schools where the endowment hoarding is an issue. If we are interested in doing anything to make college more affordable for them, we need to look at the mushrooming spending on things that have no connection with teaching students anything.