There are really two questions here.

Whether college is "worth it" to the individual in a narrow, monetary sense is often a tough call, the exact answer depending on context. There are certainly cases where an individual can end up financially worse off in life having gone to college than if s/he had not done so.

It is a different thing altogether from society's standpoint. Better educated people are better citizens; they are trained to think better; they are less vulnerable to superstition, fraud, and charlatanry, political or otherwise. Educated people are also more interesting to be around, all other things being equal. Society is stronger and more civil when its members are better educated. This may not be much consolation for the poor guy with a PhD in literature or physics who is waiting tables or driving a taxi; but it is nonetheless true.