Hyperbole = $$ (tuition/living expenses/opportunity costs) + 4-8 years of youth. Valuable stuff that inspires hand waving.

Overgeneralization = The source of this ire seems to me to come from the idea of "hey, it wasn't long ago that a degree could guarantee me a job. Now not so much. Let's posit why." Although, I seem to remember that was the tone of the movie Reality Bites some two decades ago. So clearly, this isn't the first education bubble.