The two media narratives out there about the ever-rising cost of a college degree may have you confused. On the one hand, there are the people saying that in this modern technology-driven economy, education is more important than ever. On the other hand, there are the stories of freshly minted BAs tending bar and endless talk of the burden of student loans.

This new chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics helps clear it up by showing that essentially both narratives are correct — inflation-adjusted incomes for college grads have fallen, but the gap between college grads' income and everyone else's is bigger than ever:

In other words, people who say more education is the fix for what's been ailing the economy are wrong — things have been getting worse for even the best-educated workers. But as an individual, you are still much better off with a BA than without one, and the gap actually seems to be growing.