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By Mike Wojcik, MBA, CLU, CFP®, Senior Vice President of Horton Benefit Solutions
Matt Yglesias gives his answer using this approach. If the dollar is rising because the Fed is inducing a deflationary recession, that's probably not good for anyone. But another way to approach to the question is to ask whether the dollar is overvalued or undervalued. If the dollar is overvalued, then a bout of weakening would be a healthy thing. How can you tell if a currency is overvalued or undervalued?
Profits are an essential part of capitalism. But high profits across a whole economy can be a sign of sickness. They can signal the existence of firms more adept at siphoning wealth off than creating it afresh, such as those that exploit monopolies.
The debate over exorbitant prices has its roots in a longer generational story that has redefined the priorities and the organization of the pharmaceutical industry over the years.
Are we not being set up for a tradeoff: In exchange for accelerated progress, we shell out for erratic, punishing prices as high as the market will bear?
Since the 2009 recession, wages in the United States have been essentially flat. As the economy improves and employment increases, we are hearing many clients speak of the difficulty in hiring skilled employees. In past economic cycles, this has led to increasing wages. The Economists’ article, “Looking for a Rise” contains important information on this trend.
As unemployment falls, baby boomers near retirement, and many industries experience a shortage for skilled labor in many trades - a war for talent is underway. With an opportunity to attract and retain employees, benefits plays a key role in boosting employee loyalty.
But with increasing benefits, employers also think they have to increase costs. Maybe not. Maybe there is a better way to recognize the different preferences of each generation of employee and design a program that not only is cost effective, but gets to the heart of what is most important for them.
According to the Travelers Insurance 2015 Business Risk Index, cyber risks ranked as the second biggest concern for all businesses, up from fifth last year. Businesses are most concerned about malicious and criminal attacks (55%), followed by human error (24%), and system glitches (21%).
The Affordable Care Act has dramatically impacted how employers view benefits and the strategies taken to attract employees while managing costs.
For those who play their cards right, this could be a huge opportunity to compete for people and keep lower costs vs. your peers. For those who choose to do nothing, the worst maybe yet to come.