I think what a lot of people feel about higher education can be boiled down to a fairly simple system: 1) The industrial base of the country, for better or wo

I think what a lot of people feel about higher education can be boiled down to a fairly simple system: 1) The industrial base of the country, for better or worse, was moved overseas 2) Upward mobility became intertwined with Higher Education, as a child of the 90's the constant drum beat of "Go to college, go to college, go to college" was deafening. 3) A lot of people who would not normally go to college or have no interest in furthering their education go anyhow because of the promise of a better future. 4) These people lack a certain passion for their education and field, they are not there because of a love of their subject but because of a love of money (which is nothing to be ashamed about, although I love computers and math I also enjoy money and do whatever I can to maximize the amount of it that I have, within reason). 5) These newly minted graduates that entered college without clear direction and with little passion find themselves with a load of debt and with little idea of what to do. They were promised "good jobs" but without some concrete idea or drive they end up aimlessly trying to find anything that requires a college degree. TL;DR The road to prosperity got harder and a lot of people that had no real desire to be on that road in the first place are upset about it. Post Script: Of course this doesn't mean to say that there aren't people legitimately passionate about their field that are having troubles finding meaningful employment.