You're describe an age where the government was a wash with surplus dollars. Secondly, most of these research institutions run as non-profits that effectively just cover costs (but run a large hedge fund as a side business)

The escalation in costs have come from: - Incentives around US News College rankings (and the amenities that drive the rankings) - Administrative (non-teaching, non-research) bloat

Research is definitely in need of reform though, but not sure these outcomes are actually causal or even corrilated.

>You're describe an age where the government was a wash with surplus dollars.

Hey, good point. We should really bring back that 90% top tax bracket rate to get the government back to being financially solvent again.