Rich enough to pay taxes?

As noted earlier, I believe that the tax benefits accorded to higher education have gotten entirely out of hand. If I have to pay taxes on my inconsequential investment income, why shouldn't university endowments do the same? Please note that I don't oppose the charitable deduction for gifts to universities, I just resent the exemption for their investment income, which at times has been extraordinary.

Apparently, they have taken notice in Massachusetts, where TaxProf Blog reports that some legislators want to consider a 2.5% excise tax on college endowments greater than $1 billion. I'm not clear on why an excise tax would be better or more fair than an income tax. Nine universities would be affected, with Harvard owing a projected $840 million.

Is that too much to ask?

The middle class has been squeezed dry, it may be time to go to where the money really is for revenue.