Twenty percent of student loans are held by students over fifty

The Education Bubble caused by credentialism, generational conflict and a receding 20th century economy does not just affect the young. Sure, when we think of "student loans" we immediately think of the standard student coming straight from high school and going directly into the maw of the American university debt monster. But a new report from Barclays shows us that the Education Bubble is pervasive - 20% of student loans are actually held by Baby Boomers - and they account for fully 22% of all defaults!

A report released Wednesday by Barclays says 15.5 percent of outstanding student loan balances are held by borrowers age 50 to 59, and an additional 4.2 percent is held by people 60 and older.

And "these borrowers account for a larger share of the past-due balance outstanding, with those older than 50 responsible for 16.9 percent of the past-due balance and those older than 60 accounting for 4.8 percent," Barclays said.

The average student debt burden for borrowers older than 60 is $18,250.

This is shocking, but it makes sense. In a world where everybody is leveraging up, rational behavior is actually punished until the system collapses. This is what has made the competitive environment so maddening in recent years. Solid, cash-rich companies have been ironically swallowed up by hulking, debt-soaked conglomerates. Being skilled has been replaced by taking out thousands in loans for increasingly ephemeral, meaningless credentials. If you don't play, you can't win.

But look at the fact that these people account for a greater per capita share of defaults. That means that playing the game doesn't work for everyone - in fact many people end up as bigger losers, in debt, with poor credit, and unready to retire when there isn't much time to make different strategies.