Very true, Malkin. My DIL doesn't understand this yet, as she has only been there 4 years. My son, on the other hand, has seen what's happened to AZ and it isn't pretty.
Re: the student loan issue. It's just a whole different ball game now. I had 3 loans that were totally cancelled because I went into a field that needed people (special ed). But, they didn't total that much. My older son's girlfriend is a perfect example of what happens today. She has a degree in interior architecture from RISD (supposedly the premier art school in the country). Her parents gave her no help and in fact, didn't even encourage her to go to college (they are both drop outs from BU). She is incredibly talented. She got beat up in the Boston Public Schools and got herself scholarships to a private HS. But, she has not been able to get a decent job in her field. She is turning 30 in a couple of months and owes about 60K. She lived in NYC for 2 years, to get experience in her field, where she was barely paid above minimum wage and treated like a slave. She is now working as a trainee at a locally owned, very socially conscious BBQ place that actually is a huge supporter of the local cycling community. They are going to open another place and hopefully, she will get to design it and manage it. She does some graphic design freelancing on the side, but there are no jobs in her field. She is not lazy by any means. But, that 60K is hanging over her head. It's been deferred a lot. My son is afraid her credit will not allow them to buy a house if they get married. It really sucks! Most of this is because her parents gave her no financial education and the fact that she could have gone to MA College of Art and had the same education for a fraction of the cost.
I am not sure what the answer to all of these problems are, but I don't think we're going to see educational equity in the US in my life time. It takes money and commitment, both of which are lacking.