The problem is that the vast majority of the time, the people with the fake degrees also don't have any of the skills the degree "certifies" them as having. I'v

The problem is that the vast majority of the time, the people with the fake degrees also don't have any of the skills the degree "certifies" them as having. I've seen a few very notable cases where a person with a fake degree cost a company six figures in disastrous projects that relied on those people as having a basic education in their field. In the grand scheme of things, $20-30k over 4 years is not a whole hell of a lot of money. And this is coming from somebody that paid for college out-of-pocket while supporting a wife (who couldn't work at the time and also was going to school) and earning less than $20k/yr. Leaving school with that kind of debt is almost inconsequential since you'll likely get a job that pays you well enough to live decently and pay back whatever debt you have with extra left over to eat steak. Sure I had to suffer for a few (six) years to get my undegrad, but my first job out of school paid enough that I was able to live at a far better standard of living than I did during school, and still pay back the loans in about 4 years (and all the while, every year it got better and better as I got promotions and pay raises).