The wealthy see educating the masses as a threat, and so they not only make education expensive, but also do their best to make a healthy profit off of it for those who attempt to get an education. Thereby reducing the threat of the educated by insuring that they start their careers with large student debts, which basically is a modern version of "indentured servitude", which they use as a means to maintain their wealth, while reducing the power of the educated to threaten their own power and position in U.S. society.