It does, though. Tuition for my local university (and my alma mater) costs ~$9,000 per semester for undergrad. Add books, parking pass, and other fees and that’s probably ~$10-$11k per semester. That’s $20-$22k extra per year on top of normal living expenses. No one has an extra $20k per year to pay cash. Grad school is even more expensive.
Yes, you can (and should, IMO) start at a community college to save money. Yes, trades are an excellent path that not enough people explore.
But for the vast majority of us, loans are the only way to get a degree and a degree is the only way to get the job we want.
Making college more affordable will absolutely lower the number of people drowning in student loan debt.