Student Debt

I realize that no one really wants to think about this, but the average debt of college students has significantly increased over the past few years, according to the article it has increased by 66% from 1997 to 2002. In 2002 the average college graduate came out of a four year college about $19,000 in the hole. What a way to start off the rest of your life. Anymore a college degree holds about the same significance as a high school diploma did 30 years ago. You really can't get much of a job without one and sometimes can't get much of a job with one. Has college become a trap for the less fortunate in America?
Scenerio- Your poor; you want to better yourself; you go to college; to pay for it you borrow money; you graduate and get a job; you make more than your dad did but after 6 months you are burdened with school loans, combine those with car loans, rent, the new furniture you bought for your apartment, car insurance, taking your girlfriend out 3 nights a week so she doesn't complain you never go out, cable, gas bill, electric, new clothes for your new job, the list goes on and on.
Is college the holy grail that it promises, or is it the start of a life of owing others?
Should some people forget about college and start working construction right out of high school?
What do you think?
Link http://www.nelliemae.com/library/research_10.html