You guys are both getting a little hot and bothered without fully understanding just how fucked up this whole system is.

First, to the point that 40K for a 2 year degree is insane, yeah it is. But you're forgetting that there are student loan agencies out there who PREY on kids like this. Their business model is inherently exploitaitive and, yeah, they're going to saddle a student with as much debt as they can extract from them while making them all kinds of promises in order to extract more debt.

Second, I totally buy 40K in debt given predatory loans like the above, but you should acknowledge that your situation is abnormal. My wife is carrying 40K in student loan debt, after 20 years, never really being able to use either of her degrees (plural) but that $40K is for BOTH a 4 year bachelors (print journalism... right before the industry tanked) and a 2 year AA (paralegal).

Third, carrying debt for community college shouldn't take away from the fact that community college should be free. I'm sorry you got screwed, really I am, but you getting screwed shouldn't mean everyone else needs the opportunity to get screwed too.

I'd argue State colleges should be free as well.