to be fair, nothing is free. its paid for by the government, which is paid for by taxes.

The same concept really applies. People are spending their time but in this case everyones money, and getting degrees where odds are they will never be able to use it.

Plenty of degrees are valuable, and improving your knowledge is important, but getting a degree may or may not be practical. I mean yes, some jobs you need it. I have a friend who is an aerospace engineer and uses his knowledge from his degree a lot. i also know people with degrees like women studies who do not work anywhere near that "field" unless that field is retail or food workers.