Won't this increase the demand for college education, thus allowing colleges to raise their price even higher?
I'm sure we can look at the numbers and come up with a conclusion. Furthermore, there are many city and state institutions that have tuition caps. In this situation I would expect more students to result in better use of existing resources or the creation of more city and state institutions.
A long, long time ago I read an article comparing the increase in the cost of college education vs. the published inflation rate. They were roughly the same. Really. But this was a long, long time ago...Camelot.
After student loans came into existence this rough equality disappeared and the cost of an education rose faster than inflation. Economically, that makes sense. Subsidize something (education) and you get more demand. With a somewhat inelastic supply of colleges, the price goes up.
Of course correlation is not causation. Many other reasons can be cited as well. But once upon a time college, while still expensive, only kept pace with inflation.
529's can be structured as a portfolio/mutual fund and be as aggressive as you want it...