I think parents can be well-intentioned, wanting to give their kids the best life possible growing up, but also have it backfire to a degree. I count myself among those who grew up in a relatively well-to-do upper middle class family. While not 'rich', I did not want for much growing up. I think my dad always made sure we had plenty because he felt guilty for moving us from state to state every few years, so obviously I know his heart was in the right place. The problem is that I grew up academically lazy. It wasn't until I was around 24 years old until I finally decided to get my act together.
I started taking a few classes at the local community college, and then used that to get accepted at a larger university (Temple U). I got a full time job working corporate security at night, figured out what that would cover in terms of tuition bills and living expenses, and then took out college loans for the difference. I lived on my own in Philly, I took care of everything on my own w/out parental assistance, and graduated at a very high level in 1999. I don't mention the 'high level' part to brag, I mention it because I don't think I would have done that unless I'd taken complete and total ownership of the entire experience. So in that sense I completely agree with Fez....I dedicated myself to somethign for three years, worked hard for it, and saw the results. As difficult and lonely as that period of my life was, it's arguably the most important period of my life.
I can also see the alternative, though, and I think this depends on the parents REALLY knowing the tendencies of their child. If you have a kid who you KNOW will thrive academically and do their absolute best even though they don't share in the financial responsibility, then I think it's a great gift. Otherwise, I think a lot of parents are just giving their children an excuse to blow off four years of their lives with partying and debt-building exercises.
If this kid in the article was THIS far off in his planning that he's expecting a $10/hr job to offset $50k in school loans plus living expenses, chances are you can point back to his teenage years where he just didn't have anyone to help him see the light. He was probably a lazy bastard like I was and took a lot of things for granted. Now he's got himself into a real bind, cause there's not much you can do to rid yoruself of school loans.