It’s probably because what he is claiming is that everybody who is not getting scholarships, or a full ride, or paying their own way happily through college is either a) not as smart as they think, b) not smart at all, c) not willing to work at all and wants everything handed to them, or d) not willing to do what he easily made happen about 30 years ago in a totally different circumstance. It’s like when people compare two totally different things, and declare “If these circumstances were completely different, why, they’d be exactly the same!”. Well no shit, but the situation isn’t the same as it was back then.
Bricker has demonstrated that the top 1% will probably find a way to get their education paid for, and anyone who isn’t the top 1% is fooling themselves. He proudly points at National Merit Scholarships as though it’s the answer for everyone, and somehow by demonstrating that scholarships still exist, that everyone has access to them. When I was in high school, I had a 3.9 GPA, a 30 ACT score, worked 25-30 hours a week, volunteered, played varsity level sports, went to state on the debate team, and was prom royalty. If there was a more well-rounded student, I want to meet her. I got exactly $250 in scholarships and financial aid, and I promise my parents were not rolling in the cash. These were merit-based scholarships I applied for, over $50,000 worth, and I received one for $250. This is not to sneak brag at all, this is to demonstrate that you can be a really kick ass student on paper and do very well in school and be well rounded and still not get shit in terms of financial aid to pay for school. So what should I have done differently? Been smarter? Scored better? Worked harder?
If I had not had Florida Prepaid Tuition, I would not have been able to afford school. Thanks to my parents, who were the ones to invest in that in the 80’s. But not all states have a locked-in tuition option, and not all parents can invest in their kid’s education from day 1. When I went to school, I had to work 45 hours a week while taking a full load of classes to support myself, just for my living expenses alone.
The school I graduated from for my BA, a public school in FL, charges $170 per credit hour. So a 15 credit load would cost $2550 a semester (not including fees) and the entire degree (of 120 credits) will set you back over $21k (also not including fees). That is not chump change to a lot of people, and it’s been demonstrated that tuition inflation has comprised more and more hours of work based on a minimum-wage earning level.
Nobody is arguing that it is easy, trust me. But the people who aren’t able to outright pay for school end up amassing a huge amount of debt to get there, which puts them in a position of further disparity as compared to the people who had the money to pay for school and not go into debt to get there. So, the top 1% is set, we’ve already determined that. The 4.0 kids, the 2400 SAT, the 36 ACT, the kids who never had to work during high school and got to spend all their time volunteering and taking AP classes to spiff up their CV, they’re golden.
Everybody else gets more or less screwed by a system that benefits the top 1% performers, and the rich people. Unless you go to a cheap school. (Is CSU seriously that cheap for in-state tuition? $312 a semester? That is not even in the same ballpark as most schools, so perhaps I’ll take those stories with a large grain of salt now)
Then I transferred and I paid $6,500 give or take a semester. I graduated with $11,500 in debt and then I was a dumbass and went to grad school for teaching and incurred another $40k. 
But he knows the path…community college, four-year, and then go-it-on-your-own further education if he wants.