College is just one of the three pervasive pillars thoroughly entrenched by systems of law, culture, and physically built infrastructure. The other two are cars

College is just one of the three pervasive pillars thoroughly entrenched by systems of law, culture, and physically built infrastructure. The other two are cars and suburban home ownership. They all have sustainability problems. Car commutes lead to neighborhoods that aren't dense enough to support the economy needed to sustain them and they're a de facto 30k ticket just to participate in society. Suburban homes are somehow supposed to be both an investment and affordable to everyone. We all know that no matter how many times there's a housing bubble, people never learn. The cultural propaganda aspect is huge. "What's good for GM is good for America." "The American dream." The GI Bill started the trend of government subsidized college, and now there's all manner of grants. If you buy into the suburban home Ponzi, you are literally subsidized thought the mortgage interest deduction. Roads take more than gas taxes cover, yet rail is only acceptable if it's profitable. It's all fever dream of Utopia that made sense to post war boomers with good intentions but now the execution spirals out of control. Maybe a car or a degree or a suburban home is right for some people, but as a one size fits all solution that is indoctrinated since birth and in some cases part of peoples identity, it becomes absurd. College will continue because we will remain irrational about these 3 things much longer than you can remain solvent.