Plus at the macro level, most economies are consumption driven and rely on population as a major driver of growth.

I disagree with subsidizing college more that it is already. There are numerous scholarships available to promising students. Also, the government has been directly and indirectly funding colleges through grants and easy to get student loans. The problem with this is people going to college who might not be able to perform at that level, or who are unable to find a job that pays high enough after graduation. There is research that shows that some minority groups tend to pick careers in lower paying fields because they want to make a social impact (think teaching, social work, etc), so not everyone's goal is to maximize profit. There are plenty of trades that one can make more money working in, such as diesel-electric mechanic, welder, auto mechanic, aviation mechanic, etc.