People that can't afford housing don't buy Ferraris and they spend money on higher education because that is sold to the entire populace at large as the way to get ahead.

Further good jobs use it to distinguish between those who are worth looking at and those that aren't even where the education isn't truly required to do the job.

Also we really don't want to admit to ourselves that the biggest step up would be to go back in time and drop out of the right uterus.