I think what's lacking is a recognition of knowledge UNLESS
  someone goes through the system. *I* think the university system
  should be free for all. Money kept me from finishing mine 25
  years ago. So, I learned on the Internet instead. Libraries.
  Wherever I could get my hands on knowledge. But the lack of
  acknowledgement via a degree makes it not matter to some.
  Thankfully, there's ALWAYS a way to get employment with
  knowledge-alone if you can talk to the right person, so it's not
  a total barrier to many fields that _seem_ closed. Thing is
  though, a free college system will probably reduce the number of
  Universities available to a few. But at the very least, if they
  could make community colleges that exist free, and let them
  offer up to PhD levels, we'll see a HUGE gain in society.