Is it untrue though? Higher education used to be paid by the state for the brightest few, the rest just didn't have an option to pursue it. Some countries tried to forecast how many engineers/doctors they'd need and ensure there are enough state-paid spots in the respective schools, not sure if the US ever did that.
Now it's pretty much available to anyone, you can bet your future income to your Egyptology study and the state still backs your loan in case you can't ever earn a decent wage.
Unlike a medical bankruptcy it's not an accident that your studies aren't making you profit, unlike a home loan your knowledge can't be repossessed.
You post-bankruptcy earnings would still benefit from your education, it's like keeping your collateral through the bankruptcy and then using it to earn money.
Since there is no way to determine what fringe studies will become important it is beneficial to have as many people highly educated in as many disciplines as possible. State guaranteed education loans accomplished this. The same people also refused to address the perverse incentives opting to allow corruption, fraud, and waste to become endemic in higher education. Now I don’t want to be uncharitable, fraud, waste, and corruption are rampant across America and increases the closer one gets to vast hoards of wealth or cash.
