We’ve starved one of the glories of the United States - public higher education I wish that was true. Government colleges receive direct taxpayer subsidies and also benefit from taxpayer subsidized student loan programs.
What "glories" do you speak of?
I'll address the second comment first. In most countries, vast sums are poured into E&S education, while higher education is (or was) reserved for the few. The US reversed that. We opened the doors of public higher education to (almost) everyone, while spending considerably less on E&S education. This access to relatively low cost higher education has bestowed tremendous blessings on the US.
Very, very few foreign institutions of higher learning(even German ones) compare with those in the US - and not just the elite Ivy League colleges but also state universities such as UCAL, Michigan, Texas, UNC, or UVA.
And those state institutions have been starved for funds to pour into the bottom less pit of E&S education. I know in CA, the UC system has taken major financial hits. And student loans are no substitute for the funding that once flowed into public colleges and universities. In one state, the legislature reduced funding of its flagship university from about $150 million a year to less than $100 million. Now, that's a cut. As I said, of course there is fat and duplication, but not that much.