Mitch, you get a gold star for that! Just because it’s true that on average people who have earned college degrees (many of them earned decades ago, before the great dumbing-down) have higher earnings than do non-degree people does not mean that everyone who might get a college degree is going to enjoy a large earnings boost. The reason is obvious: people are not fungible. Some benefit far more than others from academic work, and for some, classroom time in college is a complete waste of time.