I'm increasingly confused by college education discussions. ~$200k+ is a serious, life-changing investment for most people. Bankrolling more than a fraction of

I'm increasingly confused by college education discussions. ~$200k+ is a serious, life-changing investment for most people. Bankrolling more than a fraction of that with loans with no plan to make a return on investment (a salary, generally) doesn't even start to make sense. Normally I don't struggle to replace words like "stupid" with something more descriptive, but here I find myself struggling (indicating that I must have a blind spot here). If you're wealthy, who cares, its discretionary income and you should make use of your privilege. If you're not three standard-deviations from the mean in terms of personal or family wealth though, why does this conversation even need to happen? Like at all? Borrowing money without a repayment plan to buy something that isn't worth very much seems self-destructive to the point that if we think buying/selling heroin should be illegal (I don't, but w/e), we should definitely think buying/selling massive crippling debt should be illegal. For contrast, here's a sane decision: I recently went back to school at 28 to get a B.S. in Computer Science. I bankrolled the degree with a combination of savings, a loan from my mother, and a federal loan. Going back and getting a second degree was a calculated (and in hindsight very good) investment. I put myself around $30k underwater all told, out of the $60k odd required to earn the degree and live for three years in Minneapolis. Before sinking money and opportunity cost into a degree, I worked the math out, computed an expected salary range upon graduation, and said "this is a good investment." I worked my ass off (I worked throughout to keep costs down and to get experience as a junior engineer) and made it work. The outcome doesn't really matter, but as it happens I was fortunate and landed well above what I thought my expected salary range would be, then got promoted 18 months in to a compensation level I personally think is obscene (I figured I'd be in the 55-80k range, out of college I landed in the 120k range with a move to another state, now I'm in the 180k range total comp). The loans were paid off from remaining savings and the signing bonus for the job. What I did is an option for most people. It requires nothing more than common sense and some calculated risk-taking. And p.s., as someone who spent their 20's dealing with some pretty crippling mental health issues and generally avoiding reality for the better part of a decade, you don't need to get a fucking college degree when you're 22 (although if you know what you're doing, go for it!). Stay smart, read books, keep up with basic problem solving, take a community college math course or two (take calc 3 or physics 2 or whatever), learn to program, and keep yourself employed. Invest in knowledge and experience, shed your ego, and learn to be a person who makes things and improves the world around them. Don't dilly-dally around with this clueless fake-school b.s.