Good point. But what if -- and this is entirely hypothetical -- the supply/demand curve is altered to such a dramatic extent due to an oversupply of providers (just as an example) and $50-60k happens to be the new starting salary range? Again, this is just a "what if" scenario and I'm not implying that some massive oversupply of anesthetists is going to occur.

I think it's also interesting to note that, according to an AA I talked to who graduated in 1994, the average starting salary at the time for AA's was around $40-45k per year. If it ever plummets to that level again, I seriously hope that the AA programs lower their tuitions in an analogous manner. It would be practically impossible to pay off ~$100k in loans on that kind of income.