>> "On the other extreme are degrees that, like GP identified, were never meant to be economically sound. They focus on intellectual ideas and curiosities, rather than skills actively needed by the economy. Government subsidy here would be little more than subsidizing hobbies and other activity that do not provide economic returns."
>The risk of defunding these programs is that you can't confidently say whether many of these subjects might become useful in the future.
Why do the options have to be either "free college for all" or "defund programs that don't have direct economic benefits"? The option that you're missing is not giving free college for all, but still providing some merit based scholarships to subsidize the most promising students.