The harsh truth of the matter is that college is not for everyone, the time and costs associated with going to college are simply too high with respect to the return that it can yield. For the most part, college students are not making any significant amount of money. Despite this, pretty much every single college student carries a smartphone and macbook, luxuries they cannot responsibly purchase. In my opinion, I think this is due to the marketing tactics that Apple and other big companies employ to sell their products. The societal perception of technology has evolved from viewing these things as a luxury into a basic need. College is more or less the same story. The push towards higher education is derived from the cover propaganda that the public is exposed to, that leads them to believe that their opinion was their own.

      While I do agree with you that not everyone should be pursuing a degree from a 4 year university, I still think that there is value in exposing people to a collegiate level of education from a JC.  Attending a community college exposes people to many fields of study for a very low cost. I realize that this idea is equivalent to just  blindly casting a net in an attempt to link students  up with an interest they might not have even known about, but I think that the cost is low enough that the return will outweigh it.

Lets assume a scenario where a student discovers that he or she is fascinated by economics and engineering. That student could create a means manufacturing that eliminates the need for unskilled labor entirely. Although the likelihood of this is small, it only takes one person to make a change that significant. The unemployment rate will surely rise after this, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. With the elimination of the need for unskilled labor, the public can use their time to fulfill more significant duties.