you're ignoring the opportunity cost of going to juco instead of say harvard. you're judging this just as a matter of expense. if you have any business experience you understand that revenue also matters. who do you think gets the better job coming out, juco joe or harvard harry? exactly.
this argument is better made in the middle. like is it worth it to go to an expensive but mediocre private school. but elite vs. open-enrollment is not even a real debate unless you are fixated on one side of the balance sheet.
i also think you're ignoring quality of education and the effect on your abilities and life. i helped my mom with juco classwork. as a former HS gifted student i found it easy, and it didn't make me engage the material. i kind of want college that makes me work for it. that makes me smarter and a better thinker. or is this just a credential dispensary on the way to a career? yeah, then save your money, get your 60 credits, then dutifully transfer to a 4 year state school, and do 60 slightly harder credits. you will come out pretty much like you went in. and when you have a difficult work task hopefully "original you" knew things.
last point but enough of life is showing up and going through motions. i do not blame people for picking choices like sports and other aspects of a school that round them out and make the educational process less like a factory clock in clock out. you already face decades of that once you get out. have some fun with it.