> Then you either really haven't tried very hard to notice them or have been in an academic environment with severe defects.

Sure. (?)

> Does college even work for future economic prospects, by the way?

Where I live, a college degree is a legal requirement for a lot of professions that pay more than entry level jobs (although not all of them). So, people go to college to get a better paying job in a few years than they could get by immediately entering the workforce.