Your linked article doesn't propose that the earning potential of college graduates isn't higher, it just states that people think the tuition price might not be worth it.
College educated adults absolutely have a substantially higher earning potential on average.
> But when they looked at young people who were born after 1980, in the 1980s and 1990s, their wealth benefit was much smaller. And for certain cohorts, for Black and Latino-headed families, that college wealth premium had disappeared altogether. So a college grad wasn’t amassing any more wealth over their lifetime than a high school grad.
Essentially, total income ≠ total lifetime earnings. Wealth is what people really care about when comparing (non)college wages. Fact is, college is a big gamble now. For more explanation, read past the cited quote. (Or listen to the entire podcast, if you can! It's really interesting!)
When my $500/month student loan payments kick back in, you better bet I'm not going to be spending that $500/month on toys. This is about absolute dollars spent.
It sounds like you're mad that you voluntarily took someone else's money and are expected to repay it? Of course, if you take a loan, you'll have to make future financial plans to budget less for frivolous expenditures
I'm not mad about anything, or arguing policy about student loans. I'm just stating a fact - spending will decrease when people have less cash to spend. Why is that controversial?
I have opinions about this policy but I’ll leave them for another forum