But the whole point is that someone is paying for that increase unless actions are taken to reduce the cost. Like, if laptops started to cost $10,000 each, we could say that people need them and have the government subsidize computers (in which case the taxpayer pays), we could have individuals pay the added cost (the reaction to rising university costs), or we could attempt to push the price of laptops down.

In either of the first two cases, someone is paying the exorbitant prices. In my mind, the question is less "Should taxpayers help fund education" and more "Why is the cost of education such a burden to begin with".