I think the point is more that having the degree doesn't guarantee anything, and that not having a degree is not a barrier. You still have to do an interview with the candidate, and there will be many self-taught devs who will be much better than the people with degrees.
I think people are wrong about what a degree proves.
Sure, it's no 100% guarantee, but it should at least mean you're familiar with the domain enough to find the answers you need.
You said yourself it entails loss of sanity and time - agreed, completing one shows discipline, character, time management skills and enough sanity that you can afford to lose some. Again, it doesn't mean people without a degree don't have these things (self-education can require some of them even more), but that's one way to demonstrate them.
Finally, there's different degrees, mines are from MIMUW so they do prove quite a lot.
