Many boomers that spent beyond their means and lost their homes in 2008 were able to walk away from their loans. While they had a house to "give back", that asset probably lost 50-300K depending.
Many people every year get expensive medical care and are unable to pay it off. They cannot "give back" a medical procedure, so the cost is written off and/or they declare bankruptcy. This negatively affects everyone else that pays for healthcare.
But when it comes to education, it's a different story? I have a feeling the different story is: educational debt primarily effects the young, housing/medical debt primarily effects the older generations.
Educational debt used to be like other debt, but then the boomers went to college and got into positions of power...