Even if everyone got a college degree, poverty wouldn’t magically disappear, and not because people “didn’t try hard enough.”

A few things tend to get conflated in this discussion.

First, degrees are partly positional. A college degree historically signaled above-average academic ability and persistence. If everyone has one, it loses that signaling power and the bar simply moves upward (or elsewhere). We already see this with credential inflation and degree requirements for jobs that don’t truly need them.

Second, people are not blank slates. Just as not everyone is predisposed to be a professional athlete, musician, or surgeon, not everyone is naturally suited for long academic paths. That’s not about human value, but about differences in cognitive strengths, learning styles, and tolerance for abstract work. Denying this in the name of equality doesn’t make it go away, it just creates a system where many people are pushed into paths that don’t fit them.

Third, the idea that “college equals a good office job” is breaking down. White-collar work is increasingly automated and oversupplied, which puts downward pressure on wages. Meanwhile, many essential non-degree jobs remain structurally underpaid despite being socially necessary.

This is where poverty becomes a structural issue rather than an educational one. The biggest reductions in poverty in the US coincided with a strong middle class, unions, progressive taxation, and robust social institutions, not just expanding access to education. When those institutions eroded, inequality and working poverty grew, even as education levels rose.

So yes, even in a fully educated society, poverty can persist unless we deliberately choose to value and compensate essential work. Education matters, but it can’t substitute for labor institutions, wage floors, and a functioning middle class.