Inflation doesn't apply to knowledge, ya know
That's not true.
Say you're in a small town and your computer broke. You find the one guy in town that knows how to fix it, and he quotes you $500. You don't know much about computers, but you do know that only he can fix it and a new computer would cost you more
and you would lose all your precious data. So, you pay it.
Now, say you're in a commune of nerds and your computer broke. Everyone in town knows how to fix it. You go to the same guy, and he quotes you $500. You tell him you'll shop around. You post an ad on Craigslist, and some dude says he'll fix it for $20.
In situation one, the guy has a rare trait that has a lot of value. In situation two, that guy's trait is no longer quite as rare. The value of the skill has inflated. For him to get that job, he'd have to cut his prices by 96%.
Competition drives prices down. I'm not saying a more educated nation isn't better, clearly in principal it is, but I'm under no illusions that it would drive down the objective value of higher education. If nobody had a high school diploma, a high school diploma would be valuable in the workforce. But, since everyone has a high school diploma, you "need a college degree to be successful." Give everyone a college degree, and you'll "need a graduate degree to be successful."
That being said, you don't need a college degree to be successful. I'm a prime example of that. Right now, I'm sitting on an Italian leather couch, typing on the nicest MacBook Pro you can buy, watching my girlfriend modeling for a photoshoot in front of my skyline view near the top of a bayside high rise in America's Finest City. I got a 2.3 GPA in High School and dropped out of college. Then I got a job.
