It's to perpetuate the myth of 'rugged individualism', one of the founding legends of the US. Those middle men making all the money have a vested interest that

It's to perpetuate the myth of 'rugged individualism', one of the founding legends of the US. Those middle men making all the money have a vested interest that people follow this belief. It's related to the believe where everybody views themselves as 'temporarily embarrassed millionaires', which explains why they are willing to take on so much debt to study, and why they accept the trickle up.