And so can becoming a professional athlete.
For the vast majority of kids, neither pursuit makes economic sense. For the small minorities of kids who have the drive and passion to become the best in those fields, yes, they can (and probably will) cash in.
The difference is that the taxpayers aren’t on the hook for HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of student debt that won’t be repaid for athletic kids who can’t get a job.
When I see kids with artsy-fartsy degrees who are in debt over $100K... and I have a pretty good handle on what their field pays the average/median/exceptional graduate... I can predict quite safely that the next debt-inflated bubble to pop will be the education bubble and ground zero of that explosion will be liberal arts and artsy-fartsy degrees.
Re: your second point: One of the reasons why conservatives are hostile to the arts is NEA. Others are CPB, PBS, public funded art exhibits, museums and so on that make it their mission to offend the sensibilities of the public.
The following quite nicely captures the attitude of public servants and “the arts:”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvNw0P5ZMbA
You may be describing the OWS movement.