Hi, I’m not very familiar with how financing of higher education works in the United States of America and I would like to understand more about it. I am seeing widespread calls for the new administration to cancel student debt and my trying to understand how would the process work.

My understanding is that the vast majority (~90%) of student loans are publicly owned (i.e. so called “federal loans” I seem to gather). Can this be backed up by any official report?

Also, how much do these loans amount to in $? What % of the GDP do they represent on an yearly basis?

Should the government decide to cancel this debt, would it need to find the equivalent funds elsewhere or is there sufficient evidence to believe the reduced financial burden on ex-loan holders would increase spending (or any other form of boost to the real economy)?

Any reference to statistics is greatly appreciated! :)