<p>The economy is not a zero-sum game. The broken window fallacy doesn’t apply to everything.</p>
<p>Many college degrees are not really occupational in nature, yet can ultimately lead to careers that make a lot of money. For example, I know a guy who started a company, employed a lot of people, and cashed it out. Serious wealth creation. He is a physics major, the company he started had absolutely nothing to do with physics. Without some kind of college degree though, it is much harder to open those doors. Lots of English or philosophy majors go on to law school. Etc.</p>
<p>There is also a social aspect - even if it costs me some money in higher taxes, the increase in the living standard and wealth accumulation is so high for people with college degrees vs. not, and they use so much less in gov’t assistance, that I am willing to pay something to give these people a leg up. Not everything is about the money in my pocket.</p>