While I agree that the cost and availability of education directly threatens our foundational notion of equal opportunity in this country, I do not believe that it is the root of this problem. The root of this problem is the populist-pushed "free thinker" distrust of those among us who as a result of education and experience are experts in their fields.
Taking myself as an example, I've had the benefits of a good education; I'll even claim to be something of an expert in the field of electrical power engineering (what a surprise!
). But that good education hasn't made me an expert in any other field of knowledge. For instance, I do not believe I am anywhere close to knowledgeable enough to dispute medical experts on matters relating to my health (e.g. COVID and vaccines) -- I'd be a fool to think so. And yet, one doesn't have to search very hard these days to find someone spouting anti-vax and/or COVID hoax conspiracy drivel (many supposedly graduating college with some non-medical degree).
The truth is that we are all "people with limited knowledge or competence" in all but the handful of areas in which we have education or experience. It's best if we recognize the limits of our own knowledge and listen to those who know more than we do.