Sometimes it says that the person didn’t have rich parents to pay for him to lay around for 4-5 years.
Obviously you haven't spent any time in a physical science, mathematics, or engineering program. Nobody who graduates with such a degree "lays around" for four years.
My stepson has a degree in History from a well-known university... my husband spent $50K just so his kid could say he had a degree. A stupid waste of money in that case.
If he "lay around" for four years, and your husband paid the bill after the first semester, that was the problem. I do share what I think is your view - that far too many people wander aimlessly in college, which is a very expensive place to "find yourself." Such a person should work to support themselves until they develop the conviction and drive to relentlessly pursue excellence in whatever they see as their future field of endeavor.
There are some fields where a degree is an absolute necessity. I’m not knocking all degrees. But yes, there are far too many kids who are in college just to avoid having to get a job for 4 more years. Believe me, hubby and I went round and round about the money he spent on his kid but unfortunately, it took him a while to realize that I was right.