In a recent speech, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings asked: “Is it fine that college tuition has outpaced inflation, family income, even doubling the cost of health care? Is it fine that only half of our students graduate on time? Is it fine that students often graduate so saddled with debt they can’t buy a home or start a family?”

It was a rhetorical question, but judging from the deeds – not words – of state and federal governments, the answer is a resounding, “yes!”

Government-backed student loans have gotten stingier; financial aid isn’t keeping pace with costs and the portion of state-budget pies that goes to education is being sliced thinner.

If Spellings or her predecessors have been battling these trends, they’ve been soundly defeated.

Last year, she formed a commission to study the accessibility, affordability and accountability of colleges. Surprise! They flunk on all counts. She could’ve saved time and money by just visiting campuses or talking to students’ parents.

But it isn’t fair to lay this all on colleges. States’ financial contributions have failed to keep pace with costs. Students make up the difference, with dwindling aid from the feds.

In 1992-93, tuition made up 33 percent of the cost of instruction at Washington state’s research universities. Now it’s 52 percent.

Against this backdrop, national leaders exhort young people to obtain a college degree so they can get a decent-paying job in a competitive global economy. State leaders trumpet the importance of a skilled work force for economic development. They’re like generals who rally the troops to an important war, but charge top dollar for training, weapons and grub.

Young people – and their fretting parents – need more than cheerleading to overcome these numbers: At the major research universities in Washington state, tuition for in-state students has risen 38.2 percent in the past four years. In Idaho, it’s gone up 45.9 percent. Out-of-state students have faced similar increases.

For some students, the cost of books alone tops what their parents were charged for in-state tuition when they went to college.

To help with costs, Spellings touts a comprehensive database of information on students and colleges that would give families more information as they weigh the relative value of colleges. She says shopping for a college should be like shopping for a car.

That’s fine, but this database isn’t going to reveal secretly inexpensive colleges. They’re all pricey.

Families with modest incomes would never consider buying a Lexus, but that’s the kind of purchase they face if their children are to get a college education.

Because of that, more students and their parents are incurring crushing debt with long-term consequences.

If these worrisome trends continue, college isn’t going to be worth it for many families. And that spells trouble for us all.