Any argument for the intangible benefits of a liberal arts education must, at minimum, recognize that these are all secondary benefits. Any degree without a clear path to a well paying career is, based on the cost of tuition, a luxury good. This is true regardless of whether the tuition is paid by loans or taxes.
The problem is that America is infested with rent seeking parasites who have turned every social good into a scam. Our healthcare system is the most expensive in the world, and yet we have a lower life expectancy than Cuba. We have the most expensive education system in the world, with little to show for it.
Why are we devaluing education itself, just because far too many colleges are being run by despicable businessmen? Why are we accepting their rigged game as fixed? Boomers went to college for next to nothing. Gen X didn’t have to pay that much either. The neoliberal corruption of higher education, from a social good into a scam, is a very recent phenomenon.
The root of the rot is all the pointless add-on services. Colleges don’t need to run dorms, meal plans, health centers, or any of that. The only thing that should be offered is academics. 18 year olds can go to war. They can manage to live independently, and the ones who can’t will receive Darwin Awards.
In terms of America having little to show for the Education system, a disproportionate number of the top colleges and universities are in the US.