The pyramid model links selective-college wealth to tax breaks

Evidence

To understand the link between tax policy and higher education, it’s helpful to think of the whole secondary-education industry as a pyramid. At the top, you’ll find the most selective four-year colleges, both public (meaning state-supported, like the University of California system) and private (meaning self-funded through tuition and gifts). These are all nonprofit institutions receiving associated tax breaks. They also all have a predominantly white student population and admit the fewest applicants. — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth, 260

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: The pyramid-of-institutions framing parallels the infrastructure vocabulary in ‘Grafting & Growth’; both organize a complex system by naming its tiers and the subsidies that flatten them.