This very supposed ligitimacy of non-Kollel lyfestyle is being decried by none other than you, when you paste all those statements from gedolim that have, in THEIR time, forbidden college education. Any time someone tries to either point out that there were other great gedolim that disagreed, or that today people go to college to find a parnassa, and not to study Greek mythology for its own sake, YOU are the one who immediately pounces with yet more quotes, more stories, and more arguments to silence those who disagree.
Please, not everyone is cut out for Kollel, and most of those who ARE in Kollel will NOT become klei kodesh, and need to have a legitimate, clean way to make a living, not relying on handouts from the government or other Jews, and of those, MOST aren’t interested or capable of becoming computer programmers, even without having to move to India. Of the rest, most do not have a shver who will suddenly make them a manager of his business, and don’t wish to open yet another store selling gatkes or jewelry.
They still DO need a way to make a decent living, enabling them to pay s’char limud for their children, and not having to depend on glossily advertized tzedokos that so many detest. With Yeshiva trained minds, do you really expect them to become shoemakers or stock shelves in some tiny frum grocery? THIS is why they go to college.
So, if you DO recognize the ligitimacy of other ways of making a living, without calling it a lifestyle, commend those who chose to have some schooling. And if you don’t, at least admit it.