Understanding The Uc Budget Work Ii
Monday, March 8, 2021
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In a response to AFSCME’s suggestions of how to trim the University of California’s spending, UCOP has written a detailed give-and-take of the trend the UC budget actually works. This explanation is instructive because it trots out the common half-truths, exactly alongside many “facts” that are slowly to refute.
The Office of the President's initiatory of all major claim is that reducing funding for athletics or exceptional retirement packages for senior managers volition non aid the budget province of affairs because province funds create non back upward either of these expenses. The initiatory of all business office of this declaration rests on the visit that self-sustaining units similar collegiate sports pay for themselves. However, nosotros know what several of the campuses regularly subsidize their athletic programs; inward fact, the Berkeley faculty senate voted terminal yr to halt the exercise of shifting millions of dollars a yr to the athletic division to embrace the internal deficit. We too know that all self-sustaining units purpose UC buildings that accept been built out of province funds as well as are financed through the shared UC bond rating. Once again, the occupation is that the self-sustaining units desire everyone else to pay for their losses, spell they snuff it along their profits.
In terms of exceptional retirement deals for administrators, nosotros learned from the province audit of UC executive pay that compensation for administration comes from multiple sources, including province funds as well as pupil fees, as well as thus it is difficult to believe that province funds are non supporting exceptional retirement perks. Actually, UCOP does affirm that “management positions are funded out of numerous sources as well as on average entirely 28 per centum of the savings come upward from province General Funds.” In other words, roughly a 3rd of executive compensation is paid yesteryear province full general funds.
As I accept late pointed out, all of these budget statistics are suspect because the UC pools its coin inward several areas. For instance, inward a recent Regents investment meeting, nosotros discovery the next give-and-take of how the UC invests its operating cash as well as grant funds on a regular basis: “Mr. Anderson noted that some of the funds would include federal grants as well as contracts; for example, if the National Science Foundation were to laissez passer on $500,000 at the commencement of the yr to endure expended over the shape of the year. He cautioned that, inward his example, the National Science Foundation would non endure pleased if iii per centum of their grant were lost. Mr. Anderson asked who would endure responsible should investment losses occur. Mr. Taylor responded that the campuses would endure responsible for whatever losses.” Here nosotros non entirely larn that coin from grants is regularly pooled alongside other funds inward investment accounts, exactly to a greater extent than importantly, if losses occur, the campuses accept to purpose their full general funds to embrace the grants. Moreover, what this give-and-take does non tell is who gets to snuff it along the profits from the investments.
It appears that the full general philosophy of the campus is that the self-sustaining units retain their profits, exactly the full general fund has to bail out anyone who loses money. This construction may aid to explicate Charles Schwartz’s recent investigation into how billions of dollars coming from the province as well as pupil tuition for pedagogy look to endure unaccounted for inward UC’s ain budget documents.
Like the balance of the country, the miserable as well as the nigh miserable accept to subsidize the wealthy when profits are privatized as well as risks are socialized. In the example of the UC, the rich medical centers as well as housing, parking, as well as dining services declare that because they are non-profit, whatever of their excess revenue goes dorsum into their ain enterprise, or equally UCOP explains, at that topographic point are no reserves because coin has to endure saved inward example “cost estimates are non achieved.”
At the halt of the letter, UCOP explains that no province funds acquire to back upward the supplemental retirement plans for senior managers, exactly as well as thus he adds that the terms of these programs are subsidized yesteryear an “assessment” to each campus. In other words, province funds acquire to the campuses, as well as and thus the campuses are taxed to pay for the exceptional perks to the highest-paid employees, thus spell province funds are non supposed to pay for supplemental retirement, campuses purpose province funds to pay for their portion of executive compensation.
The entirely solid dominion of the UC budget is that at that topographic point are no solid rules, as well as if the rich desire to acquire richer, they volition certainly discovery a way.
The Office of the President's initiatory of all major claim is that reducing funding for athletics or exceptional retirement packages for senior managers volition non aid the budget province of affairs because province funds create non back upward either of these expenses. The initiatory of all business office of this declaration rests on the visit that self-sustaining units similar collegiate sports pay for themselves. However, nosotros know what several of the campuses regularly subsidize their athletic programs; inward fact, the Berkeley faculty senate voted terminal yr to halt the exercise of shifting millions of dollars a yr to the athletic division to embrace the internal deficit. We too know that all self-sustaining units purpose UC buildings that accept been built out of province funds as well as are financed through the shared UC bond rating. Once again, the occupation is that the self-sustaining units desire everyone else to pay for their losses, spell they snuff it along their profits.
In terms of exceptional retirement deals for administrators, nosotros learned from the province audit of UC executive pay that compensation for administration comes from multiple sources, including province funds as well as pupil fees, as well as thus it is difficult to believe that province funds are non supporting exceptional retirement perks. Actually, UCOP does affirm that “management positions are funded out of numerous sources as well as on average entirely 28 per centum of the savings come upward from province General Funds.” In other words, roughly a 3rd of executive compensation is paid yesteryear province full general funds.
As I accept late pointed out, all of these budget statistics are suspect because the UC pools its coin inward several areas. For instance, inward a recent Regents investment meeting, nosotros discovery the next give-and-take of how the UC invests its operating cash as well as grant funds on a regular basis: “Mr. Anderson noted that some of the funds would include federal grants as well as contracts; for example, if the National Science Foundation were to laissez passer on $500,000 at the commencement of the yr to endure expended over the shape of the year. He cautioned that, inward his example, the National Science Foundation would non endure pleased if iii per centum of their grant were lost. Mr. Anderson asked who would endure responsible should investment losses occur. Mr. Taylor responded that the campuses would endure responsible for whatever losses.” Here nosotros non entirely larn that coin from grants is regularly pooled alongside other funds inward investment accounts, exactly to a greater extent than importantly, if losses occur, the campuses accept to purpose their full general funds to embrace the grants. Moreover, what this give-and-take does non tell is who gets to snuff it along the profits from the investments.
It appears that the full general philosophy of the campus is that the self-sustaining units retain their profits, exactly the full general fund has to bail out anyone who loses money. This construction may aid to explicate Charles Schwartz’s recent investigation into how billions of dollars coming from the province as well as pupil tuition for pedagogy look to endure unaccounted for inward UC’s ain budget documents.
Like the balance of the country, the miserable as well as the nigh miserable accept to subsidize the wealthy when profits are privatized as well as risks are socialized. In the example of the UC, the rich medical centers as well as housing, parking, as well as dining services declare that because they are non-profit, whatever of their excess revenue goes dorsum into their ain enterprise, or equally UCOP explains, at that topographic point are no reserves because coin has to endure saved inward example “cost estimates are non achieved.”
At the halt of the letter, UCOP explains that no province funds acquire to back upward the supplemental retirement plans for senior managers, exactly as well as thus he adds that the terms of these programs are subsidized yesteryear an “assessment” to each campus. In other words, province funds acquire to the campuses, as well as and thus the campuses are taxed to pay for the exceptional perks to the highest-paid employees, thus spell province funds are non supposed to pay for supplemental retirement, campuses purpose province funds to pay for their portion of executive compensation.
The entirely solid dominion of the UC budget is that at that topographic point are no solid rules, as well as if the rich desire to acquire richer, they volition certainly discovery a way.