Category Archives: Center for Business and Economic Insight

The History of the Minimum Wage

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Minimum Wage

The minimum wage has been in the news recently, primarily due to the proposed phase-in of a $15 minimum wage as part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. The primary purpose of this blog is to shed some light on the history of the minimum wage, including the changes in the minimum wage since its […]

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GameStop Stock Surge Explained

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Gamestop Stock

A share of stock represents part ownership in a company. Theoretically, the price of the stock should reflect the underlying value of the company. In finance courses, that value is determined by calculating the present value of expected future cash flows from the company. Think of it this way, if you were actually going to […]

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Explaining the American Rescue Plan

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The American Rescue Plan

President Joe Biden has unveiled his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which would be the third major economic stimulus plan in response to the detrimental impacts of COVID-19. In March 2020, the largest fiscal stimulus in the history of the U.S. was passed by Congress – the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security […]

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Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021 – Challenge #6: Wages

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Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021

Over the last three decades, the United States enjoyed positive economic growth in 27 out of 30 years. How did economic growth affect wages? Did everyone benefit? Not really. In 2019 the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released an analysis of real wage trends over the period 1979–2018. The Congressional Research Service is part of the […]

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Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021 – Challenge #5: U.S. Economic Leadership

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Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021

Now let’s look at Challenge #5 of the Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021 – U.S. Economic Leadership. Does it matter how the U.S. is perceived by other countries if it wants to be an economic leader? Well, it does. If the United States wants to be the global economic leader and be a […]

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Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021 – Challenge #4: Healthcare

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Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021

It’s time to continue with our Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021 series with Challenge #4 – Healthcare. One positive thing to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic – the demonstration of the commitment, dedication and excellence of U.S. healthcare workers. The technological capabilities and advances in healthcare, combined with the dedication of healthcare […]

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Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021 – Challenge #3: Manufacturing and Trade

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Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021

Let’s continue with our Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021 series with Challenge #3 – Manufacturing and Trade. The overall objectives for U.S. manufacturing and trade that most politicians could probably agree on would include strengthening U.S. manufacturing and expanding U.S. exports. Exactly how to do that becomes the divisive issue. In the past […]

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CBEI Central Wisconsin Fall 2020 Report

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CBEI Report

Interesting (and Exciting) Times The UW-Stevens Point Center for Business and Economic Insight staff is very excited about this digital version of our fall report! Chief Analyst Kevin Bahr addresses the significant economic challenges America faces in 2021 during a time of extreme social and political divisiveness, focusing on the continued effects of COVID-19 and […]

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CBEI Inner View: Thousand Lumens Productions

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Thousand Lumens

The following article was originally published in the Center for Business and Economic Insight Fall 2020 Report. by Emma Fisher CBEI Student Research Assistant There is something extraordinary happening at the Create Portage County workspaces. Located in the heart of downtown Stevens Point, Thousand Lumens Productions is bringing stories to life through beautiful and refined […]

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CBEI Insight Spotlight: Release the Data Analyst!

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The following article was originally published in the Center for Business and Economic Insight Fall 2020 Report. by Kurt Pflughoeft, Ph.D.Sentry Endowed Chair of Computational Analytics; Director of the Center for Data Analytics Data analytics is all the buzz at many corporations subsuming areas such as business analytics and business intelligence. The goals of data […]

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