Top economist Kent Smetters thinks the U.S. is on a 20‑year clock—and the tilt of the federal budget toward baby boomers is at the center of the story.
In a new analysis and in an interview with Fortune, the Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) faculty director sketches an outer limit for U.S. federal debt and a political economy that heavily favors older Americans. His bluntest line may also be his simplest: “We do spend about 10x more per older person than we do per younger person. In total, we spend about 6x in aggregate on older people than younger people.”
