britinbe,
I think your point is well taken. And, I have to wonder, given that 25,000,000 are unemployed in the U.S. alone, whether folks who are not the absolute "brightest and best" will not have to eventually realize that a college degree is not necessarily a guarantee of a high paying job anymore. Although this IS true in some highly specialized areas, I don't think it is true anymore, as general rule.
I still believe a college education is a great ticket to broaden one's understanding. I do not believe that it guarantees that they will make hundreds of thousands of dollar more than their counterpart who did not go to college. Things have certainly changed since I earned my bachelors and masters, many, many years ago. I suspect the entitlement syndrome that you mention is just going to cause a lot of problems for those folks, who hold that attitude.
With all this talk of post industrial economies (basicallly everyone else doing the West's dirty work). Is education a bubble? In the UK, the number of people going onto University has increased dramatically over the last 15 years with seemingly little added value other than to underline a stronger sense of entitlement syndrome based on those that pass in front of me for interview.
Perhaps controversial, but what level or spread of education will make for a balanced society, or are we heading the way of India where even a vocational PhD sometimes isn't enough for a factory operators job?