First a little background on measuring economic growth. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) compiles and publishes Gross Domestic Product (GDP) statistics, which measures the U.S. output of goods and services and is the benchmark for measuring economic growth. Quarterly GDP growth is usually expressed as a percentage that represents the rate at which U.S. economic output […]
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A Tale of Two Crises–and Recoveries: Financial Crisis vs. COVID-19 Crisis Part 1: Causes and Cures
The Financial Crisis The United States began 2009 with arguably the worst economic landscape since the Great Depression, an economic scenario that began to unfold in late 2007. A tanking stock market, falling housing prices, increasing unemployment, and an economic recession. The root cause of the crisis – the housing market. A collage of factors […]
More...Leah Knights: A look back at the MBA Program Fellow at CREATE Portage County
Fellowship Introduction “Develop revenue-generating strategies to build, sustain and grow the viability and national impact of CREATE” was my statement of purpose upon entering my role as MBA Fellow with CREATE Portage County, an organization who’s impact on our community is rooted deeply, and with work that’s not always highly visible. Throughout the course […]
More...The Upside of Difficulties
In this year, this time, and this moment, it seems as if every one of us has something we’re struggling with. This isn’t to diminish pre-existing problems or concerns, but in my short life, I haven’t experienced people within a culture (or portion of a culture) witness, act and suffer the way those around me […]
More...Capitalizing on These Shoes I Borrow
Sometimes it takes generations to break the cycle of poverty and oppression. And even when the cycle is broken, it can be easy to fall back into. As a child of political refugees, my parents came to America with nothing but the shirts on their back. My parents spoke little English and did their best […]
More...The Economic Recovery 2010-19: What Changed and What Didn’t – Part 6: Corporate Debt and Collateralized Loan Obligations
Overview First, a quick long-term overview on trends in business debt. The blue line in Chart 1 below shows the amount of outstanding nonfinancial corporate business debt securities and loans from 1945 through the first quarter of 2020. The shaded areas of the chart indicate recession periods. From a long-term perspective, the amount of corporate […]
More...The Dialogic Way: Talking Our Way Towards Influence
UW-Stevens Point MBA program director Prof. Lyna Matesi and MBA student Jessica Andreae from Sentry’s Dairyland Cycle Insurance presented “The Dialogic Way—Talking Our Way Towards Influence” as a part of UW-Madison’s 31 Days of Women and Leadership on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Mentoring relationships have traditionally been defined as consisting of a mentor and a […]
More...The Economic Recovery 2010-19: What Changed and What Didn’t – Part 5: Funding the U.S. Government – Corporate vs. Individual Taxes
During the economic recovery the split between how individual and corporate taxes comprised total federal tax revenues changed, primarily as a result of the 2018 federal tax changes. Before we review what happened in the last decade during the economic recovery, a long-term view of what has changed. Chart 1 below shows the percentage composition […]
More...The Economic Recovery 2010-19: What Changed and What Didn’t – Part 4: Trade with China … and the Rise of Vietnam
Overview First, a quick long-term overview on trends in U.S. international trade. Chart 1 below shows U.S. net exports from 1980-2019. Net exports are defined as the exports of U.S. goods and services to other countries minus the imports of goods and services from other countries to the U.S. In other words, it shows the […]
More...The Economic Recovery 2010-19: What Changed and What Didn’t – Part 3: Manufacturing Employment
What happened with manufacturing during the economic recovery? Did manufacturing employment rebound during the recovery? Well, yes and no, it depends on how you look at the numbers. First, a long-term overview of what has happened to manufacturing employment in the United States. Chart 1 shows two lines. The blue line indicates the number of […]
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