Steve McDevitt's letter to the editor ("On Principle" April 28) demonstrates perfectly the clueless banter that is governing our economic policy and also confusing our morality. In sarcastically urging those who oppose President Obama's honorary appearance at Notre Dame to return "free money they were given from an immoral and unjustifiable federal government," Mr. McDevitt manages to write an editorial that is both a) not funny and b) seriously uninformed. To suggest that those who have been given public funds have somehow been awarded "free money" from a benevolent state is hogwash. Of course, the only money the government has is that which it is able to collect from taxpayers. In other words, Mr. McDevitt, these subsidies simply amount to a great redistribution of wealth, from the taxpayers to the students, albeit a much smaller sum than when it was originally confiscated, after the bureaucrats take their vigorish and the politicians pay their favors. Not to mention that the government's taking money from people and handing it out to others in the form of college grants artificially increases the demand for college, thereby increasing tuition rates. So, like virtually all government programs, this "free money" scheme that you seem to laud is exactly the kind of thing that allows the federal government to earn those nasty labels you sarcastically ascribe to it. To accept these awards is to accept some of our money back, and it is the only principled thing to do, until we can reverse course and prevent the feds from taking it in the first place.
Brad Duffy
alumusi
Class of 2008
April 27
