Alumni Giving and the Homeless Mafia

I find it amusing and disturbing to read the appeals and testimonials of charitable giving, in particular to Alma maters. It usually goes something like this. "You earned your degree here and benefited from it. However, you should continue to give to ensure that those benefits continue to be available." It is as if the school can longer guarantee the quality of your degree unless you cough up the cash. I disagree with this logic because it has the appearance that the school does not know how to run a business. Imagine buying a shirt from Target for $20, only to get a call from them asking for an extra $1 so that the shirt remains popular. A degree from a university carries with it a lifetime benefit, and we make a decision if that private benefit is worth the one-time cost (tuition). The school should price the product to ensure quality because, like other businesses, would like to be profitable in the future. Possibly, as schools improve in their rankings, past students paid less than they should have. However, it is probably the past students that improved the rankings.

So, from my perspective, I refuse to give on the grounds presented. If I want to have a step with my name on it, then that is different transaction. However, from the school's perspective, they do it anyway, not because the economics is correct, but because it works. Nobody likes telemarketers, but they keep calling because someone is buying. In the same way, when asking for donations, people donate. The band, Radiohead famously asked people to pay what they wanted for their album. The same goes for homeless people. I could reason with a homeless guy that I am not obligated to pay him anything, and he would nod and walk away counting out his wad of singles. Although, I have often wondered if passers-by feel guilt and fear that if they don't give to the homeless, there might be some type of curbside revolution. If this passive extortion works with the homeless, why not with university giving? On the other hand, top students would prefer a kickback from their school.