This is precisely the problem with the expectation that parents should pay, it isn’t scalable. I only had one child so I assisted with his tuition needs, although I wanted him to have a stake in the game...so not all of it.
Given the price of college, along with all the useless degrees out there, many would be better off buying their kids a house. But nobody expects that do they?
True, but its worse than that.
The listed tuition price is higher than the net median price. If you have any assets as a parent (or even as a student) they are stripped to pay for your tuition, and the tuition of two or three others. That is totally f'd up! Forget about working your way through college at the listed price--you need to be "disadvantaged" so you can get the loans and non-merit/non-athletic scholarships.
I'll try not to get into a major rant here about medicine, but the same crap exists there. "Insurance" is your only protection against getting raped by the list price in the medical system if you have any assets. But, most of that money goes to others. Some goes to routine, expected care, and some goes to real insurance. I'm drifting, because the two systems--education and insurance--aren't strictly comparable. But, what is comparable is that the price charged is not a fair price, and depends on what group you are in.