<p>^ I don’t believe for a moment that Harvard spent lavish sums because of “pressure” to spend under “threat of government scrutiny.” They spent because they had what they believed to be ever-increasing endowment war chests which could be turned into unbeatable comparative advantages over their rivals. Thus more faculty, more programs, higher-paid faculty, more lavishly funded programs, money spent to pamper undergraduates, money spent on financial aid t make Harvard the envy of the academic world and the lowest-cost option for many students whose family incomes extended well into the 6-figure range—this increasing Harvard’s selectivity over all rivals. Not to mention money spent for the sake of spending money, because the more you spend the more highly you’re ranked under US News’ twisted priorities. Government oversight was th least factor in all this; they spent like drunken sailors because they were drunk on their extraordinary and unequalled wealth, and on all the advantages they thought it could buy.</p>