I can't say that I'm an expert on economics, I can only say that it has become a big enough problem that it managed to come to my attention.  it also helped to explain my own confusion with the system.

People in America are aware that a problem exists, but the public is either distracted by artificial problems or they are hit with a sense of powerlessness and a sense that they are unable to change the system, and the few politicians who are against the problem lose the backing of their parties and funders and slip into obscurity.  The American people need to mobilize, and learn to once again flex its democratic muscle.  I don't think its hopeless, but there might be some growing pains.  And even though things seem to be getting worse, they ultimately aren't that bad yet, but something needs to be done before things get really, really bad.

As for your situation, I would never condone abandoning your education.  Derive what benefit you can, even from a broken system, make do with what you have.  The benefits of education continue to exist, it is that attaining those benefits has becoming increasingly harder that I object to.

As for the give and take, it is s serious problem in America especially with unnecessary military funding.  I don't remember the numbers, but the percentage spent on the military, and on prisons, and on banks is exorbitantly more than the funding spent on education, social projects, etc.  We don't need to be engaging in these expensive wars that destabilize the world to distract ourselves from our own real problems.

Unfortunately, too many people think Nationalism is a sufficient substitute to morality.  Identity and exclusivity become more important than universal values, more important than compassion.  Why ask hard questions when the government can spoon feed you what you're supposed to think and believe?  Nationalism has destroyed this world.  It is an artificially constructed sense of belonging and demands unquestioning loyalty giving in return a sense of superiority and entitlement and hypocritical values.  Americans say we stand for "Truth, Justice, Liberty", and simply saying it means that it is true and we are suddenly and magically above criticism.

Anyways, we can stop talking about this whenever you get tired of political stuff.

Also, I wanted to apologize for the late post, I don't actually have an excuse other than I failed to notice that you had posted already.