JERRY POURNELLE ON the Higher Education Bubble. “But the real question is, why does all this cost so much? My wife and I both worked our way through college, and all four of our boys got through without lifetime debts. In those days college tuition was high for prestige private colleges, but most people could afford state college or even state university tuition. . . . Tuition costs are going up. Even as we discover that for about half the college grads the education is useless.”