Why is the Cost of College "too damn high?"

DylandMatthews has written a fantastic 10-part series for the Washington Post aboutwhy the cost of college is “too damn high.”   

This piece discusses the expenditures on new gym facilities with fancy climbing walls. 

In most industries, the business must balance the services they provide with their cost.  Getting that balance right is usually make or break.  But colleges for the last several decades have succeeded by spending more on fancy dormitories, sports facilities and park-like settings in order to “trap” their customers.  And their typical 18-year old customer only cares about what they have to pay today without regard to what they will be on the hook for later on.