[mattchew]

A degree can be a valuable signal to employers and also be a terrible waste of time and resources. It can be both at once.

It would be better if we found ways to let young people get into white collar and middle class professions without spending $100K and four years of their lives. This used to be possible. I'm quite sure it could be done again, but collectively we're not going to go there. Yet, anyway.

[lotsofpulp]

> A degree can be a valuable signal to employers and also be a terrible waste of time and resources. It can be both at once.

Sure, but it answers the question of why a degree is “needed”, and that is given the supply and demand curves for labor, the suppliers of labor need it to compete with each other.

> It would be better if we found ways to let young people get into white collar and middle class professions without spending $100K and four years of their lives.

Really simple, remove all taxpayer funded (including guaranteed) education loans, and any special bankruptcy protection they might have.