Things have improved slightly since then. Pragmatists might be inclined to say that's what Labrador deserves for majoring in studio art. She majored in biology, thinking she'd be able to get an entry-level job with a biotech firm or veterinarian. Nowadays, people don't care if you have a degree.
Statistics bear out the pair's experience.
But it's not just California graduates who are wondering about the real value of their diplomas. In the U.S., a great many of us go to college with the naive assumption that a diploma will bring us economic success. While it's true that college graduates make more money in the long run, it's also true that four years at a university is no longer the best path to making a lot of money, nor is it even a guarantee of a secure middle class existence. I don't want the valedictorian, I want the kid who sold cigarettes in the bathroom. Indeed, a look at the Forbes 400 shows little correlation between the accumulation of degrees and the accumulation of wealth.