Dossier
Kent Smetters
Coverage of Kent Smetters in the Nexus archive.
Penn Wharton Budget Modelorganization2U.S. Federal Debttopic1Baby Boomerstopic1health care coststopic1Donald Trumpperson1Iran wartopic1U.S. governmentorganization110-year U.S. Treasury notetopic1budget deficittopic1tariffstopic1artificial intelligencetopic1Jessica Riedlperson1Brookings Institutionorganization1Glenn Hubbardperson1
- The national debt’s 20-year deadline and baby boomers’ spending problem: ‘a lot of incentive for every generation to try to pass a big bill’
Economist Kent Smetters warns the U.S. federal debt is on a 20-year trajectory toward an unsustainable 210% of GDP, driven by disproportionate spending on older Americans. Retirees receive 38.6% of federal outlays, while spending per older person is 10x higher than for younger individuals, creating intergenerational fiscal challenges.
- Trump is facing a new inflation warning from the bond market, adding to his midterm challenges
Rising interest rates linked to bond market concerns over inflation and government debt are complicating President Trump's midterm election prospects. The Iran war's energy price spike has pushed 10-year U.S. Treasury rates above 4.44%, with economists questioning Trump's deficit-reduction strategies, including tariffs and spending cuts, as unsustainable.