Eugene Steuerle: Young Americans Can’t Keep Funding Boomers and Beyond

Dr. Eugene (Gene) Steuerle is an Institute fellow and the Richard B. Fisher chair at the Urban Institute, as well as a board member of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. He recently wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times, an excerpt of which is below.

You know the expression “OK, boomer”? Better said as “Boomer OK.” That’s because the social safety net in the United States is increasingly favoring the old over the young. And this affects our political views and the security of future generations.

Younger Americans have valid reason for disgruntlement: Big shifts in income and wealth are significantly favoring their elders. Under almost every president since 1980, 80 percent of the real growth in domestic spending has gone to Social Security and health care, with Medicare the most expensive health program, according to calculations based on federal data. As a share of G.D.P., all other domestic outlays combined have declined.

Read the entire piece here.

Published works by members or staff of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget do not necessarily reflect the views of all members or staff of the Committee.