What's overrated is the "pick a degree, any degree, you get to call yourself 'educated' in four years!" mantra. The difference between the US and (what I hear of (so probably stereotypical)) Germany is that in the US you're told from a very young age to go to college to "get an education". In Germany you're told to go to college to "become a competent engineer".

I really disagree with you that it will balance out, that everything will be alright, and that the 40-hour work week will keep on going. I'll defer to the other comments on this page for reasons why.