I don't think liberal arts degrees are a waste of time, as long as the student also has some practical work experience under their belt.  I have worked with many people with liberal arts degrees, and their degrees helped them get the job.  Print editors and journalists are just two jobs I can think of offhand in which a liberal arts degree would be useful.  Employers look for workers who have experience and a well-rounded education, not just specialized skills which will help them do only one job.  

I wouldn't say the liberal arts are 'dead,' merely an 'endangered species.'  Most people these days look upon college as the fast-track to getting ahead in their career (read 'higher income') rather than developing understanding or appreciation for things that were said or done a few hundred or a few thousand years ago, much less how they paved the way for  

For those of us with 'fire in the belly' for the liberal arts, we have museums and library that are rarely crowded, and the lecture series and performing arts. For those who live in the sticks, there's always radio, cable, and CDs. Those who want and up to the challenge can find or start an online forum or blog to pursue philosophy and aesthetics and readily find many others around the world wlling to join you on the journey.

The reality is that most people aren't that interested in 'lifelong learning' - which is the essence and an indictment of how compulsory education affects most of us.  If there's no credit or remuneration, they can't be bothered.

The liberal arts aren't relevant to the great unwashed masses; never have been; never will be.  The tragedy is that real talent discovered by middle school is completely annihilated by their mid- to late-20s for all but a few.  Those who manage to survive and go on to college also get a second chance to be thrown under the bus - there simply aren't enough paying gigs for someone who majors in 16th century French literature for example.

Fortunately, we have the liberal arts in the first place because throughout history there have always been a few extraordinary individuals who did ask permission or need anyone's approval to do whatever they did best.  I think that's probably true today - although we might not have the slightest clue who they are or what they're doing because of din from the tens of millions of lesser talents and our collective, insatiable appetite for something new and different.

Whether a liberal arts education necessarily leads to scholarship, research, or critical thinking, or really makes you a better person merely by virtue of exposure, is debatable.  The potential is there, but I honestly think it's inherent within the liberal arts themselves, not some professor, newspaper critic, or commentator.

We're doing irreparable damage to the Millennial generation by cutting out music and art to make room exclusively for those courses that are going to be on the standardized tests.

I earned my bachelor's degree from a school that calls itself a "liberal arts college".

I had a liberal arts education, and I do not serve french fries to anyone, I am employed, and I have real skills that can be applied to a business environment. I took classes in music, philosophy, history, literature, and painting. I also took classes in calculus, economics, and studied German.

That's pretty much what a liberal arts education is all about - learning how to understand things from many perspectives. Today, I am a copywriter and web producer, so I must combine a lot of creativity and logic. My liberal arts education gave me a strong foundation for success in the business world. I have been able to take on a range of projects and enjoyed them!