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My father worked in addictions counseling and basically it pays nothing, is rampant with corruption, power tripping and general toxicity. So while the US does have these problems, unless you find it to be your calling to help folks like my father did in the second half of his career, the majority of competent people will steer well clear of these types of fields. It leaves a particular set of people behind, abusers and people who will be abused. My father is a good man and generally fell into that second category so as soon as he hit retirement age he got out.

I guess when I say "lost value" I meant in terms of the degree recipient being able to capture the value they can provide.

I agree there's a lot of value which could be provided -- but someone still needs to employ those talented individuals and provide them with the infrastructure necessary to facilitate them doing "their job".

unfortunately demand isnt driven by the crisis, its driven by the states' willingness to pay