I think the solution is to nationalize higher education and get private money out of it.
I've never liked that idea, because it would leave us with a situation like in Europe where higher education is rationed. The US is unique in that one always has a second chance to get more/better education to improve one's circumstances. This is a result of paying to go to school. I'm no fan of for profit colleges, but I do think there is a lot of value that results directly from having to fund you own education.
I've never seen any evidence to support the claim that higher education in Europe is rationed. And a cost barrier to higher education is innately classist.
Is that necessary? Just because higher education becomes public doesn't mean you have to ration it. But even if we stuck to rationing higher education is it really worse than what we have now? Crushing student debt that amounts to over $1 trillion dollars?
"People go to college just to go to college." Some do, sure. Do you have any statistics for what % of students are doing that? "Don't get a PhD in English lit at a cost of $100,000 if you plan on being debt free in your life." I don't think it's right to restrict what type of education one wants to perform based on what they are expecting to be paid after they graduate. A lot of education that may not be considered economically viable can still be useful.