if society didnt think 4 year degrees were necessary...

[1prophet]

That's the ONLY reason anyone can think of for the rise of wealth inequality? CEOs of top earning American companies don't make 1000x what their average employee does because they have a 4 year degree. I haven't looked at an exact study as to why the top end of the wealth distribution has pushed up so much in the last few decades but I would guess it has something to do with companies becoming more global, more consolidated, having a more accessible consumer base, and well, just momentum of the rich having access to getting richer without bounds on how much money you have.

I came from a single parent household and my mother was dirt poor, so her expected upfront contribution for my tuition was basically zero and I maxed out the qualifications for government grants and subsidized loans. Granted, this was over 10 years ago, the prices have probably gone up tremendously since then and it could be a lot harder. Still, in the years since then what I kept hearing from younger people was that they were struggling to pay for college not because they come from a family that doesn't earn enough but because they have parents with decent income who can't or won't contribute (and the government is brutally unforgiving about this, it's impossible to declare independence from parents who can't pay until you're pretty old)

I'm sure there are plenty of professions where you used to stand a good chance getting hired without a degree but now you can't, but that's a natural consequence of an overall growing level of competency.. I mean, 50 years ago you couldn't even get a computer science degree.

That doesn't mean that the valuation of the college experience isn't partially BS though. I think it's less the case that it offers a unique learning experience and more that it's some kind of proof that you can actually get work done in areas vaguely related to what you're being hired for.

This is why
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlocking_directorate

Interlocking directorate refers to the practice of members of a corporate board of directors serving on the boards of multiple corporations. A person that sits on multiple boards is known as a multiple director.[1] Two firms have a direct interlock if a director or executive of one firm is also a director of the other, and an indirect interlock if a director of each sits on the board of a third firm.[2] This practice, although widespread and lawful, raises questions about the quality and independence of board decisions.

Some theorists believe that because multiple directors often have interests in firms in different industries, they are more likely to think in terms of general corporate class interests, rather than simply the narrow interests of individual corporations.[6][9][10] Also, these individuals tend to come from wealthy backgrounds, socialize with the upper classes, and tend to have worked their way up the corporate hierarchy, making it more likely that they have internalized values that will cause them to personally support policies that are beneficial to business in general.[6]




Furthermore, multiple directors tend to be more frequently appointed to government positions, and sit on more non-profit/foundation boards than other directors. Thus, these individuals (known as the "inner circle" of the corporate class) tend to contribute disproportionately to the policy-planning and government groups that represent the interests of the corporate class,[11][12] and are the ones that are most likely to deal with general policy issues and handle political problems for the business class as a whole.[13]



These individuals and the people around them are often considered to be the "ruling class" in modern politics.[3] However, they do not wield absolute power, and they are not monolithic, often differing on which policies will best serve the interests of the upper classes.[14]




Interlocks not only occur between corporations, but also between corporations and non-profit institutions such as foundations, think tanks, policy-planning groups, and universities.[15][16] They can also be seen as a subset of connections in a larger upper class social network which includes all of the aforementioned types of institutions as well as elite social clubs, schools, resorts, and gatherings.[3][17] Multiple directors are "roughly twice as likely as single directors to be in the Social Register, to have attended a prestigious private school, or to belong to an elite social club."[18]