Are you serious?
It got everything to do with it! If degree does not give high salary, there is no reason to invest into university education!
Nobody wants to stay poor, just to support American universities!
American education makes a sense for professions with certification like medical doctor, otherwise it is just a scam!
Educational attainment for career and financial condition improvement is also, but independently, good.
It would suck to have a world where only the rich (or perhaps "only the rich plus people for whom their parents are willing to pledge a house they own") can afford to attend high-end colleges. That shuts out some intellectual development [and economic and social mobility], but I'm focused on the "hey, it's great that you're smart and did well in school, but because you're poor, here's a broom..."