The leftist argument for opposing a possible grant to UNC by the Pope Foundation is that because of the Pope?s conservative political views the money would be ?tainted.? But in fact the Pope money would actually be among the relatively small amount of untainted money that the University receives.
The real question is how should we determine what ?tainted money? is. In an episode of the Sopranos, Tony is cajoled by his wife to give $50,000 to Columbia University where their daughter Meadow is attending college. I think that we would all agree that, in taking this money, Columbia is receiving ?tainted money.? As a mafia member Tony ?earns? nearly all of his money by coercive means?i.e., through outright violence or the threat of violence. The means of acquiring the money are immoral and therefore the money is tainted.
Using this standard we can judge exactly which money received by UNC is tainted and which isn?t. Clearly the Pope money would not be tainted. The Pope family has earned a rather large fortune by satisfying consumer wants in the market place. They have provided good products at low prices, inducing customers to voluntarily exchange their dollars for products that clearly make them better off. In other words, the money that UNC would be receiving from the Popes was earned by moral and ethical means in the process of improving the well being of others.
Now let?s look at the bulk of the money that UNC uses to operate programs and pay the salaries of its employees. Most of this money is not raised through the process of free exchange but through coercion and the threat of force, that is through the tax system. Most funds (money paid in tuition is an exception) used at UNC are gotten by methods that are much like those used to gain the $50,000 donated to Columbia by the Soprano family. People are told to hand their money over to the state government or they will be deprived of their liberty and property, if necessary through the use of violence. The fact is that the Pope foundation money would actually be some of the only money that UNC should feel morally clean about accepting.
