Expert insight
U.S. needs an AI boom to grow out of its debt problem
June 02, 2025
In a guest column for Barron’s, Vanguard Global Chief Economist Joe Davis discusses how, if AI becomes a true general-purpose technology, the resulting positive economic trends could open a window for U.S. policymakers to enact preemptive and even gradually phased-in fiscal reform. “If technology and AI disappoint, the era of tough choices will arrive sooner than markets might think,” said Davis.
Davis’s views draw on a proprietary quantitative framework of megatrends that Vanguard has developed. Based on decades of research, it provides a sense of the two most likely economic scenarios through 2035, driven by an interplay of factors: technology, demographics, globalization, and fiscal debt.
Read more from Davis about what these two scenarios could mean for the financial markets and investors at Barron's.
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