Some more parts of the equation; deregulation, unemployment pressures, some job degrees aren't helpful, heavy cultural emphasis on degrees to be successful, culture of short-term thinking and lack of financial education.
Wow, I'm glad there are others that realize this. I guess hacker news would be the place to find independent thinkers like yourself. One other I would add is:
Lack of school counselors, teachers, parents, etc. that believe entrepreneurship is a viable career option.
Excellent point. Since kindergarten, when I tried to sell some crafts I made during play time to the other kids, I've been pulled towards entrepreneurship, but going through school you are eventually led to believe that running your own business isn't an option.
It's not that anyone ever sat me down and told me that I couldn't be an entrepreneur, but it's never discussed as a possibility.
>heavy cultural emphasis on degrees to be successful
I think the cultural emphasis on degrees was in large part pushed from the top down. I.e., once more people started going to college (because of loans/scholarships), college became a necessity for jobs where it previously wasn't.