I&#x27;m not a big believer in minimizing college debt. I&#x27;m a believer in minimizing <i>college</i>.<p>People who grow up in wealthy families naturally find themselves on a college track that seamlessly routes them to elite schools when they&#x27;re 18 years old.<p>People who grow up in poverty aren&#x27;t on that track and might not even have much agency (due to their circumstances, requirements to work young, entanglements with the law) until they&#x27;re in their 20s.<p>The fastest growing stable white collar jobs all require a 4-year degree. Even if college were <i>free</i>, people of reduced means wouldn&#x27;t have equal access to it, because taking 4 years off the workforce isn&#x27;t an option for most people. Meanwhile: a 4-year degree has actually not much value in predicting one&#x27;s ability to perform as e.g. an HR director.<p>So what I&#x27;m suggesting is the startup that finds a way to turn smart, enterprising 24 year olds working in retail jobs into HR directors, credibly enough that they&#x27;ll be competitive with Russian Lit majors.<p>(I&#x27;m not picking on Russian Lit; it&#x27;s just, that&#x27;s the undergrad degree my sister got at UChicago before becoming a lawyer, so it&#x27;s the first one that pops into my head).