Quite simply, not everybody has a need to go to college. That diploma has become a sort of union card to get into certain professions, but by artificially pumping up the “qualifications” as to the fitness to hold a position and perform the duties and responsibilities of many jobs, professions even, does NOT require a college degree.
Four years spent getting the chops on the job often places the job applicant in a better position to carry out the performance parameters necessary to do a credible discharge of the duties and obligations of the job, than all the academic honors that may be earned by becoming a professional student until some time in the late 20’s.
And many of the “degrees” granted are not worth squat in ANY job market.
The colleges have lobbied successfully in many states to require certifications for jobs that any teen could do. It keeps the money coming in.
This is the real problem as I see it (well that and the astronomical cost).
What will really happen is a college degree will have less worth ... more like a high school diploma has become a minimum marker of achievement.
To have a mark of achievement you would now have to have a Masters Degree (this is already true) or a PhD. This entails even more money and even more years in school not being a productive taxpaying citizen.
Pretty soon the call will be for the government to pay for “free” advanced degree programs as well ... and then free PhD programs, etc.
I have several friends and family who teach at the college level and they all tell me that at least 50% and probably more of the people enrolled should not be there. They require lots of remedial education (things they should be proficient with from attending high school but aren’t). Plus they are going for degrees that are not or should not be required anyway to do most jobs. Most of them would be better off in trade schools or apprenticeship programs set up by employers.