<p>PrincipalV, a national university really could not compete with privates or even states, unless they did something like set it up as a quasi-private (or quasi-federal) institution, like FannyMae (maybe a bad example!) The privates and states can pay what they want to - there are faculty members, particularly at professional schools and in athletic departments (i.e. D1 football and basketball coaches) making millions of dollars per year. The fed. government payscale tops out at 400K, the President’s salary.</p>
<p>Moreover, in the U.S., federal institutions in most realms (medicine, law, finance) are not necessarily associated with the greatest prestige except for the very top positions. The best Justice Department lawyers often end up working as private-law-firm defense lawyers. The best non-research physicians are usually in private practice, though often with a university affiliation. A top federal finance post is where you go AFTER you’ve made your gazillions at Goldman Sachs, not the other way around.</p>
<p>And most of this is because America is a capitilistic country where money talks</p>