"People are generally more optimistic about their futures and irrationally excited about what they consume."

I don't think that's quite it. People get comfort from following a plan. Go to college, take a bunch of loans, and it will all work out.

They think if it doesn't, someone will bail them out because they followed the plan. Everyone else is in the same boat anyway, and maybe one of them will find a solution, or they can band together and demand something from someone else.

That doesn't line up with reality though. A lot of people do get left behind. The people with the "plan" are nowhere to be found, and were just repeating what worked for them without looking at the new numbers.