Does it cost more to take care of the young or the old?

...some economists are sanguine about the country's ability to support the elderly and at the same time provide for the young. Gary Burtless, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, noted that the decline in fertility rates since the 1960's means that the burden of caring for the young has decreased dramatically - freeing resources to channel to the old.

The overall burden on the employed will grow, but not to unprecedented levels. The ratio of people of working age to those either under 20 or over 65 will decrease to 1.2 in 2050 from about 1.5 today. But this is still an easier load than in 1965, when the country was awash with children, and the ratio of the working-age population to each dependent was only 1.1.

True, the young are cheaper to maintain than the old. In 1990, economists at Harvard and M.I.T., including David M. Cutler and Lawrence H. Summers of Harvard, estimated that people over 64 consume 76 percent more than children.

Still, Mr. Burtless estimated that in 2050 a worker will have to sacrifice 49.6 percent of his or her wages - through taxes or other means - to maintain society's dependents. That is nearly 6 percentage points more than in 2000, but it is merely 0.8 percentage points more than 1965. And the percentage could well be smaller if people work later in life to pay for more of their keep.

The notion of incredible competition between what the public spends on the aged and what it spends on the young is driven by fear, Mr. Burtless said. "But so far the fears have not been grounded," he said. "In fact, we seem to be able to do both kinds of things. Increase spending on aged and protect spending on the young."

This is the most hopeful notion I have heard in some time.  Here is the story.  Here is the home page of Gary Burtless.

Let us not forget about the utility dimension in addition to the fiscal.  Is it more fun to care for the very young or the very old?  The evidence is not so clear cut.  Many people do not enjoy their children as much as they claim; read more here.