> But when they looked at young people who were born after 1980, in the 1980s and 1990s, their wealth benefit was much smaller. And for certain cohorts, for Black and Latino-headed families, that college wealth premium had disappeared altogether. So a college grad wasn’t amassing any more wealth over their lifetime than a high school grad.

Essentially, total income ≠ total lifetime earnings. Wealth is what people really care about when comparing (non)college wages. Fact is, college is a big gamble now. For more explanation, read past the cited quote. (Or listen to the entire podcast, if you can! It's really interesting!)