How is this different from any other kind of debt a 22 year old might have?

The answer is, it's not - banks simply wouldn't loan outrageous sums of money to 18 year olds. If 18 year olds couldn't get 200k loans from banks, colleges wouldn't charge 50k/semester (unless you think colleges would simply close up shop if they can't charge 50k/year).

Unbankruptable loans + incredibly high demand today means that colleges can simply charge whatever they want.

This is exactly right.

I was going to say you are wrong, but you're not. These loans should absolutely be forgivable in bankruptcy, so people stop making them so lightly.

We have to cut off the supply of easy money to students if we are ever going to deal with the absolutely insane tuition prices at schools.

Unsecured loans aren't new.

Maybe asked differently: how much of your personal retirement money would you lend to such an 18 year old for the prospects of a 7% or so yield?

My point is that you won't find credit card companies willing to loan those same people $50,000 and they shouldn't. The ability for young adults to easily strap on large amount of debt has inflated the price of college. Banks only do it because they are guaranteed to be paid back. If banks were more strict with their loan requirements, they wouldn't give so much money away and, in turn, there would be fewer students out capable of paying high tuition.

Colleges would be forced to lower costs, ideally to the days where you could afford to pay tuition by working part time.

For me, it would virtually ensure my kids would have their pick of several top or top-middle private colleges paid from 529 accounts and by co-signing or remortgaging our house; nevertheless, I’m still adamantly opposed.

I’m not convinced you can live for four years on part-time work alone, let alone buy tuition, lab fees, and books on top of just your housing, food, utilities, and minimal entertainment in many college towns.

The top and even top middle school (probably every school outside HYPS) would either lower in cost or dramatically cut class sizes. There is a small number of students who’s parents can actually afford the 50k sticker price - either prices drop or these colleges end their undergrad programs. These institutions will not cost 50k/semester.

There is essentially no risk for these loans because they are backstopped by taxpayers.

These loan sizes increase, the cost of tuitions increase.

Everything else that is open market loans, have no such growth pattern.

I fail to see the benefit of all this spend when the consequence is a bunch of PHDs ... working as teachers at profit AND nonprofit Universities, to produce more diplomas en masse so we have more university-degree retail associates and social media managers (if not unemployed 23yr olds).

You have to question why is it that no one would pay 25K in tuition if you had no ability to get loanable funds. Hint: there's no real market for it.

One, banks would be unwilling to lend vast sums of money for education, and universities would have to cut back and offer education at a more reasonable price.

Two, income sharing agreements would become commonplace for economically productive degrees.

Three, pursuing economically useless degrees would go back to being the preserve of those of independent means.

Four, fewer high school graduates would go to college, and a lot of marginal colleges would close.

All of these are good things.