You people are unbelievable. According to your logic, anyone who has an easy job, or someone who gets paid to simply be themselves by showing off their talents such as a musician or an artist; or someone who gets paid to sit on their tuches and simply spend time thinking and figuring things out – not much different than a kollel guy; or for that matter, anyone who isn’t working in a coal mine, is wasting their life.
Admit it, your question wasn’t so innocent after all. You have an agenda, you don’t like the idea of kollel for other reasons.