Let's assume you actually do end up bettering your life by taking out student loans and getting a degree. Although it seems almost memetic these days that you'll sink 100k into a school and wind up flipping burgers, in my situation it was actually the opposite. I was a cook for a catering business making very little money such that my federal tax burden was virtually nonexistent. After finishing school I make quite a bit more money, but I'm paying very high student loan payments (not complaining really, I was aware this would be the case) and the interest on my student loans is higher than on my mortgage! These are federal loans as well, not private.
By providing me a loan the government has essentially won! They've turned a tax burden into a source of revenue. My lifetime earning potential is much, much higher than when I did not have a degree and was working as a cook. Why are some of these interests rates as high as 6%? It seems insane!