[mannerheim]

> Or is this just based on some kind of just-world theory? "People who go to college are educated; education deserves better pay; therefore, people who go to college are well-paid"? It's a nice thought, but it's not reality.

It is reality. Those with college degrees earn more.

> The fact is, a huge number of people have staggering amounts of student loan debt, and very little ability to repay that debt—and a legal prohibition on discharging it.

Student debt for undergrad is capped at around $10k per year (depending on which year the student is in). As a result, universities tend to offer generous scholarships that put the total amount students have to spend within that limit.

The only people with staggering amounts of student loan debt are people who take out uncapped loans for a graduate programme in film studies at Columbia.