Hoops = $$$

There are two ways to legally make a substantial salary nowadays. You can either go into business for yourself or go to college and get a bachelors degree, which are steadily becoming required left and right. The troublesome fact is that a large percentage of the time the job market doesn't necessarily care what your degree is in, just as long as you have one.

It seems to me that this is a rather large hoop for companies to ask you to jump through before you can work for them. Even if a person has 5-10 years in the corporate world with tons of experience, they would prefer that you spend another 4-6 years and tens of thousands of dollars going back to school to get a degree. So you go to your local University and tell them that you want a degree in Business and you want to learn anything and everything about business. No problem.....as long as you are willing to take about 40 hours of unnecessary general education classes first. 

"What? Another hoop??" 

You would be correct. The University would like to profit off of you and have you take 10-12 classes you really don't need and probably already took in high school. 

The cycle will continue, all hoops. The original expression should have been, "Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness, and Pursuit of Financial Means (as long as you are willing to jump through hoops.)