Here's a question for you: Has higher education become another great American scam?

I'm not talking about the rich getting scammed. They get what they pay for. They can afford to be scammed, and they don't wind up saddled with student loan debt after they graduate.

A lot of rich people send their kids to expensive private colleges hoping they'll get a good education that will lead them into their chosen careers. If they haven't chosen a career, rich parents are more than happy to give their kids the "experience" of college, with all its social aspects, country club accommodations, and alumni status.

But then there are kids who want a higher education because they believe a college education is their ticket to gainful employment and well-compensated careers. They pay for it themselves, or their hardworking parents cosign on loans or take out personal loans on behalf of their kids' college dreams.

For them, higher education is increasingly looking like a scam.

Some critics complain that this is students' own fault, that they're pursuing the wrong majors. Or they say that colleges themselves are lacking, that they're not teaching what kids need to know in our ever-changing economy.

However, my problem isn't with education or kids' choices. Today I'm telling you where my beefs are – and why they're costing today's kids and their parents billions…

My First Beef: Astronomical Student Loan Debt

My first beef is with the come-ons that lure kids and their parents who can't afford college into indentured servitude.

Personally, I don't get what costs $10,000 a year (which is cheap these days) or $25,000 a year. And I especially don't get what costs $50,000 and higher a year.

Maybe if kids were guaranteed jobs that allowed them to pay off their loans, those crazy costs might be justifiable.

But there's no guarantee on jobs, and so those costs aren't justified.

Half of all kids who recently graduated colleges and universities are unemployed.

Outstanding U.S. student loan debt now exceeds $1.2 trillion.

Students are saddled with an average of more than $21,000 in debts. This takes into account both those who got out relatively early without a degree and graduates who can owe $100,000 and more – well into their 50s.

And now to add insult to injury, they're being victimized by this parasitic source: