Speaking for myself, hell yes!… My degree is in Mechanical Engineering. Without the education I would not be able to do engineering at all. In my case it also got me around the world including many places that are far off the beaten path and in some cases rather dangerous. In the specific case of South Africa, I was there in 1975 during the Apartheid era, a place that is off-limits to me today. In the case of China, if it wasn’t for the degree I never would have been selected to go there. I also got to every country in Western Europe, just about every country in Central and South America, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, every major city in Australia and many of the major cities in the United States. But all degrees are not as valuable. Some degrees are no better than reading about 30 books. Some are not even that good. Unfortunately, many students are not capable of doing the work to obtain a degree. So the true answer to the value of a college degree depends in part on human attributes that are not available in equal measure, individual intelligence and individual drive. Speaking personally I’d recommend everyone attend college. What I do not recommend is extending the financing of college into public education. It is possible for economically deprived individuals to go to college part time and even by computer from inside their own home. That puts college within the reach of just about everyone without requiring everyone to pay for everyone else.
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