This Week in Business

Social Security’s main trust fund could be depleted by early 2033, leaving incoming payroll taxes sufficient to cover only about 86% of scheduled benefits.Kent Smetters, Wharton Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy and Faculty Director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, explains why the program is approaching a critical funding deadline and what it could mean for current and future retirees.He also discusses the impact of falling birth rates and longer lifespans, why delaying reform makes the eventual solution more difficult, and the policy options Congress could consider to strengthen Social Security.

What happens when companies move AI from a promising experiment into everyday operations and the technology starts making costly mistakes?Santiago Gallino, Associate Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions and Associate Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School, examines why companies such as Starbucks and Ford have reconsidered AI-driven processes after accuracy and quality problems exposed the technology’s limitations.Gallino explains how unreliable systems can erode employee trust, why human judgment remains essential, and how implementation failures can affect customers and brand reputation. He also discusses the risks of scaling AI too quickly and why companies must determine whether their technology investments deliver meaningful customer value and measurable returns.

Big companies need innovation, while startups need capital, customers and opportunities to prove their ideas work.Wharton Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions and Senior Vice Dean of Innovation Serguei Netessine explains how corporate venturing is evolving beyond traditional investment models. He explores the rise of venture building and venture clienting, why becoming a startup’s customer can be more valuable than simply investing in it, and how these partnerships can help established companies innovate faster while giving startups a path to scale.

A new bipartisan housing bill promises to tackle America’s affordability crisis, but will it actually make housing more accessible?Wharton Professor of Real Estate Ben Keys examines the Road to Housing bill and its potential to address the rising cost of buying and renting a home. He discusses proposals to streamline permitting and environmental reviews, expand manufactured housing and small dollar financing, and support home repairs and local innovation. Keys also explains why limits on corporate homebuyers could have unintended consequences and why funding constraints, tariffs, labor shortages, and high mortgage rates could limit the bill’s near term impact.  

Innovation isn’t just about breakthrough technologies. It’s about building the institutions that allow those breakthroughs to scale.David Hsu, Wharton Professor of Management, explores how the United States has repeatedly reinvented the way innovation works, from the patent system and Bell Labs to venture capital and today’s AI ecosystem. He explains why commercialization, institutional design, and effective regulation have been just as important as invention itself, and what lessons they offer for the future of artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship.  

Henning Piezunka, Associate Professor of Management at the Wharton School, explores how competition in the AI industry can shift from healthy rivalry to destructive behavior, discusses the psychology behind executive decision-making, explains why successful organizations balance competition with collaboration, and shares insights from research spanning business, sports, and innovation ecosystems.

Jeremy Siegel, Wharton Emeritus Professor and Senior Economist at WisdomTree, discusses Alan Greenspan's lasting impact on monetary policy, reflects on the lessons of the 2008 financial crisis, analyzes Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's early leadership, and explains why more forward-looking economic data could shape future interest rate decisions while also revisiting the long-term economic effects of Brexit.

Itay Goldstein, Professor of Finance at the Wharton School, discusses the growing concerns surrounding private credit markets, including liquidity mismatches, valuation uncertainty, investor redemptions, AI-driven pressures on software borrowers, and the potential systemic risks posed by connections to banks and insurance companies.

Peter Cappelli, Professor of Management at the Wharton School, examines the resurgence of "peanut butter" raises, exploring how companies distribute limited pay increases, the impact of inflation on employee compensation, and the tradeoffs between rewarding top performers and maintaining workforce morale.