Year: 2021

As another eventful year comes to a close, we’d like to offer a heartfelt “thank you” for being part of the Minich MacGregor Wealth Management journey.

We are so deeply grateful for your trust and presence in our lives and we’re sending you our warmest wishes for an amazing end to 2021 and a great start to 2022.

2021 was another year of uncertainty, but also a year where the indomitable human spirit shined.

There’s a lot we can’t control about the future, but we can control a few things.

As we usher in a new year with great expectations, can we commit to a few things together?

Embracing Our Dreams

It might still look hard to fully commit to dreams when the world is still uncertain. But let’s move forward and recommit to them even if they look a little different.

Our job together is to help you grow and protect your wealth so you can use it to reach your aspirations, retire in comfort, create change in the world, and leave a legacy of love. It’s the desire to see you achieve your dreams that drives our team to work tirelessly on your behalf.

Harnessing Our Behaviors

With so much out of our control (the markets, the economy, inflation, and other shocks), it’s so important to focus on ourselves, our hopes, our goals, and our dreams.

Identifying the choices in our control isn’t just a good financial lesson, it’s a great life lesson. Let’s commit to deep breaths, small improvements, patience, and curiosity.

Focusing on Kindness And Patience

In a time of increasing polarization, let’s commit to treating each other with kindness, patience, love, and respect. Here’s something we try to keep in mind when we talk to folks we disagree with: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

Thank you again for being with us on this journey. We are deeply grateful to have you with us.

Warmest Wishes!

P.S. With December 31 approaching, it’s your last chance to make charitable gifts, take Required Minimum Distributions, and make Qualified Charitable Distributions for 2021.

P.P.S. Lawmakers are sprinting to pass legislation (including the Build Back Better Act) before the end of 2021. We’ll post in the new year with anything critical that you need to know.

The Grinch is trying a new trick this year.  Instead of dressing up like Santa Claus and stealing presents, he’s decided to leave a little market volatility under the tree for each of us instead. 

If you’ve been watching the markets, you know the Dow dropped 532 points on Friday, December 17 – then promptly slid another 433 points the following Monday.¹  As your financial advisors, the last thing we want is for market fear to overshadow holiday cheer.  So, we thought we’d pen a short note about what’s going on for you to read between hanging stockings and wrapping gifts.  Like any good Christmas story, things may seem gloomy at first, but in this email, we’ll explain why, despite his best efforts, the Market Grinch still won’t be able to ruin the season. 

Omicron

When the World Health Organization announced a new variant of COVID-19 back in November, the market’s reaction was predictable: A sharp drop, an equally sharp recovery, and then a plateau of watchful waiting.  (The Dow dropped over 1,782 points between November 24 and December 1, then climbed 1,697 points over the next six days.²)  That was because investors realized there was a lot we didn’t yet know about Omicron yet, including:

• If it was more or less contagious than previous variants.
• If it was more or less virulent than previous variants.
• How effective the various vaccines would be at protecting against it.

Thanks to the heroic efforts of scientists around the world, we now know much more than we did just a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately, the news isn’t entirely good.  As you’ve probably heard, early evidence – emphasis on “early” – indicates that Omicron is significantly more contagious than previous variants like Delta.³  It’s also more capable of evading the body’s immune response, meaning that both prior infection and existing vaccines – including the two-shot MRNA vaccines available in the United States – provide less protection against infection.⁴ 

The news isn’t all bad, though.  As of this writing, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that Omicron is more deadly than previous variants.  Further, vaccines do still seem to offer significant protection against severe illness and hospitalization.⁴

But the prospect of an especially contagious variant spreading like wildfire across the globe once again has investors heading for the hills.  And the reason is understandable. 

Omicron’s rapid rise has prompted many countries to circle the wagons again.  The Netherlands has re-instituted strict lockdown measures, France has banned large events and gatherings, Denmark has closed theaters, Israel has imposed travel restrictions…you get the idea.⁵  And other countries are poised to follow suit in the coming days.  Of course, every country will experience consequences in some form or fashion.  As more people get sick, restaurants, shops, manufacturing plants and other businesses the world over will be forced to shut down or cut back on production.  Given that most economies still haven’t recovered completely from the initial stages of the pandemic, it’s the last thing the world needs. 

The most important cost of all this, of course, is the human cost.  Every day, people’s lives are being changed forever because of this awful virus.  But the economic cost is what has investors reeling.  Whether through more restrictions or more cases, Omicron is throwing yet another wrench into the world’s supply-chains.  This, in turn, keeps prices high and worsens inflation. 

It’s frustrating that we have to keep talking about this, isn’t it?  As we enter the thirdyear of the pandemic, it’s easy to feel like we’re starting over.  Back to Square One.  Maybe, to quote a phrase currently going around on social media, the year 2022 should be pronounced “2020, too.”  On the surface, it seems like the Grinch is winning. 

But if we may quote a very famous doctor…

“[The Grinch] heard a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low.  Then it started to grow.
But the sound wasn’t sad!  Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn’t be so!  But it WAS merry!  Very!
Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small,
Was singing!  Without any presents at all!
He HADN’T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME!
Somehow or other, Christmas came just the same.⁶

You see, we’re not back to Square One. We’re not starting over – as a nation or as investors.  Flash back to the March 2020.  Do you remember how things felt?  The virus was new and terrifying.  We didn’t know exactly what it did or how it worked or what we could do about it.  Now, all these months later, we know – and have – so much more.  As citizens, we know how to live with the virus, and how to keep ourselves as safe as possible from it.  We have vaccines and other treatments.  We have experience. 

As investors, we know how to handle sharp, COVID-related downturns.  Of course, we don’t know exactly how long volatility will last, but that doesn’t matter – because we have a playbook for dealing with it.  Just as we did in 2020, we’re capable of going on defense as soon as the technical signals indicate it.  (And we have many such indicators that we watch every single day.)  Should Omicron prompt a sustained downward trend, we’ll focus on preserving our clients’ principal.

That’s why the Market Grinch isn’t winning.  It’s why he never will.

So, our advice is to forget about the Grinch.  Ignore the headlines.  Fill your mind with visions of sugarplums and your heart with love for the season.  Be like the Whos down in Whoville.  Our team will continue keeping an eye on the markets, using the playbook we’ve worked so hard to assemble.           

From everyone here at MinichMacGregor Wealth Management, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

P.S.  While we encourage you to not stress over market swings, we understand that’s sometimes easier said than done.  After all, it’s your money!  So, if you have any questions or concerns, please let us know. We will always be here for you.  

_Sources:

_{1 Stocks fall and oil sinks as storm clouds gather over global economy,” CNN Business, December 20, 2021.  https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/20/investing/markets-stocks-oil/index.html}

_{2 “Dow Jones Industrial Average Historical Prices,” The Wall Street Journal, accessed December 20, 2021.  https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/index/DJIA/historical-prices}

_{3 “Why Is Omicron So Contagious?” The Scientific American, December 17, 2021.  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-is-omicron-so-contagious/}

_{4 “See COVID Vaccine Efficacy Against Omicron Infection, Severe Disease in One Chart,” NBC, December 20, 2021.  https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/coronavirus/see-covid-vaccine-efficacy-against-omicron-infection-severe-disease-in-one-chart/3459677/}

_{5 “Stocks, Oil Prices Fall on New Covid-19 Curbs,” The Wall Street Journal, December 20, 2021.  https://clicktime.cloud.postoffice.net/clicktime.php?U=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fglobal-stock-markets-dow-update-12-20-2021-11639989846&E=maryellen%40mmwealth.com&X=XID331ZLuPsr5067Xd2&T=MMWL&HV=U,E,X,T&H=48eb14fb760ebbd9ac42ea91ccb23700cb3eb7c5}

_{6 Dr. Seuss, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” Best Poems Encyclopedia, https://www.best-poems.net/poem/how-grinch-stole-christmas-by-dr-seuss.html}

You know Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, Comet, and Cupid, Donder and Blixem.

Ho, ho, ho…Or do you?

We bet you thought it was Donner, and Blitzen. And while you aren’t wrong, you aren’t entirely right either.

We are all familiar with the iconic reindeer that lead Santa’s sleigh every December 24^th. This year, we are going to get to know them a little bit better. Who are they? What are their career goals? What qualifications do they possess that make them suited for this elite team Santa relies on?

Santa’s reindeer made their first debut nearly 2 centuries ago in an 1823 poem titled “A Visit from Saint Nicholas”. It was later, and better, known as “Twas the Night Before Christmas”.  It was in that poem that were officially introduced to 8 of the 9 most famous reindeer.

They were, as previously mentioned, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, and Blixem.  (Now adays, the latter two are known as Donner and Blitzen. We’ll cover why in a minute.)

But first, we bet yule be surprised to learn that contrary to pop culture, all of Santa’s reindeer…. are female!

How do I know? Well, according to two scientists from Edinburgh University, the fact that the reindeer are depicted donning full-grown antlers late into December (male reindeer lose theirs during the winter months) indicates that Santa’s Christmas Eve crew are all sleighin’ it as leading ladies. However, we are a bit of a traditionalist and like to think that despite the antler status, Santa’s flight crew is co-ed.   

Now it’s time to get to snow them a little better.

Dasher – The fastest of the reindeer (unless you ask Blitzen), Dasher is the athletic one of the bunch – the jock so to speak.  She excels at sports, specifically track and field.  She has a keen eye for fashion, a happy disposition, and tends to be a social butterfly.

Dancer – Dancer has got rhythm in her soul, and music in her heart. She has incredible hoof-eye coordination and is known to breakout into song and dance at the most unusual times.  Loud and out there, Dancer loves to flaunt bright, colorful clothes. With a huge heart, she is ever popular with the elves.  

Prancer – A little vain, but just as full of good intentions as he is full of himself. He is enthusiastic, high-energy and loves a good prank (though sometimes they can go a little too far). Prancer is always dressed to the nines, complete with accessories. In fact, Mrs. Claus made him a unique, one-of-a-kind harness to store his comb, brush, and mirror so he can look good on the fly.

Vixen – Vixen is pure magic, and always has a trick up her sleeve. She can make things disappear, and then reappear. (How else do you think Santa gets his bag of toys down a chimney?) As you can imagine, just like any other performer type, Vixen loves to be the center of attention. She is calm, cool, collected, and very smart. The other reindeer tend to confide in her. Her downside? She is late to everything.

Comet – Comet pulls people into her orbit. She enjoys making people laugh. She is laid-back, easy going, and incredibly smart. You can always count on Comet being there to lend a hoof to a friend in need. She is flexible and tends to go with the flow, but when she sets her mind to something, she gets it done.

Cupid – Not to be mistaken for the little winged baby that makes people inexplicably lovesick, Cupid is the fifth reindeer to join the team. True to his name, he is extremely loving and has a heart of gold. He can’t stand to see a friend feeling sad and will go to any length to cheer them up.  His favorite colors are red (of course) and green.

Donner (Donder) – Donner was formerly known as Donder (meaning ‘thunder’). Why the name change? Well, his official witness protection cover story is that, due to his father’s job, he, Blixem, and his family took on aliases and were relocated to the North Pole for protection. Due to this sudden life change, Donner is a bit of a mystery and keeps things close to the harness. He is only close to a select few.  As a creative type, he is loud and full of ideas, and he loves to take charge.

Blitzen (Blixem) – Donner’s twin, and closest confidante. Blitzen is adventurous and a thrill seeker. Never one to sit still, he began learning to fly at a very early age. He is arguably the fastest of the reindeer (check with Dasher to get her opinion on the matter.) When Santa yells ‘faster!’, Blitzen has a supernatural ability to inject an electrical current into the other reindeer. He is always on time, and even when not on the job, he moves at lightning speed (Blixem does mean ‘lightning’ in German), getting things done in a flash.

Rudolph – You know him, you love him, he’s arguably the MVP of the team. Growing up, he saw many doctors who tried to figure out what was the cause of the bright, glowing nose he is so well known for. Experts thought it was simply the overuse of blood flowing to the capillaries in his nose due to high altitude and extreme cold. But that only accounts for the redness, the glowing is still a medical mystery. Due to his rough childhood (you know, being laughed at, and called names), Rudolph is fairly shy and self-conscious, though extremely playful with those he is comfortable with.

These nine reindeer are, truthfully, the heroes of the holiday. Without them, Santa would simply be stranded. Santa chose his reindeer wisely. While they each have their unique qualities they bring to the team, they all demonstrate similar personality traits that are crucial to carrying on the Christmas spirit.

Make sure you keep your eyes to the sky this December 24^th. A little elf told me Santa will be looking out to say hello to all of our friends.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!

Pop quiz: What do Thanksgiving and Mary Had a Little Lamb have in common?

Answer: They were both created by the same person! 

Okay, so maybe Sarah Josepha Hale – author of the beloved nursery rhyme – didn’t create Thanksgiving, but she can take credit for turning it into a national holiday.  That’s why she is often referred to as “The Mother of Thanksgiving.” 

Sarah was born in New Hampshire in 1788.  From an early age, she had two loves.  First, she loved to read.  Largely self-educated, Sarah consumed every book she could find.  So, it’s no surprise that she soon tried her hand at writing books instead of just reading them.  One of those books was called Poems for Our Children, and it introduced the world to a little girl named Mary, and her lamb “with fleece as white as snow.” 

A few years earlier, Sarah also wrote a novel called Northwood.  In it, she introduced America to her other great love: Thanksgiving. 

“The table…was now intended for the whole household, every child having a seat…and the more the better, it being considered an honor for a man to sit down to his Thanksgiving dinner surrounded by a large family.  The roasted turkey took precedence, being placed at the head of the table…[with] innumerable bowls of gravy and plates of vegetables…pumpkin pie, an indispensable part of a good and true Yankee Thanksgiving…[It] is considered appropriate to set apart one day of Thanksgiving each year; and autumn is the time when the overflowing garners of America call for this expression of joyful gratitude.” – Sarah Hale, Northwood¹

Published in 1827, this was one of the first descriptions of a typical New England harvest feast, with details we can all still recognize today.  The tradition of such a feast had been around for centuries, of course, but it was uncommon outside of New England.  Sarah’s dream was to change that.

Ten years later, Sarah became the editor of Godey’s Lady Book.  This was the most widely read magazine of the 19^th century.  It effectively put Sarah’s name in front of tens of thousands of Americans and elevated her to voice to one of the most influential in the country.  (I imagine Sarah would have become a highly successful “influencer” on social media if she lived in our times!)  Among other things, Sarah used her platform to call for a National Day of Thanksgiving. 

To Sarah, Thanksgiving wasn’t merely a local tradition.  It was patriotic to celebrate Thanksgiving – and a chance to unite a sorely divided country.  In the decades prior to the Civil War, the United States became more and more fractious.  Sarah envisioned Thanksgiving as a sort of balm for the nation’s wounds.  By reflecting together on what they all had to be thankful for – including their country – perhaps Americans could spend more time reflecting on what they had in common instead of what divided them. 

“Everything that…quickens the sympathy that makes us feel from the icy North to the sunny South that we are one family, each a member of a great and free Nation, not merely the unit of a remote locality, is worthy of being cherished.  We have sought to reawaken and increase this sympathy, believing that the fine filaments of the affections are stronger than laws to keep the Union of our States sacred in the hearts of our people…We believe our Thanksgiving Day, if fixed and perpetuated, will be a great and sanctifying promoter of this national spirit.” –Sarah Hale, editorial¹

Thanksgiving Day – fixed and perpetuated.  The United States was vast, with many states and communities isolated from each other by thousands of miles.  Thanksgiving, however, could help close those gaps.  That was Sarah’s vision, and thanks to her many editorials, her vision started to spread.  By 1861, she reported that multiple states now celebrated a “National Feast Day.”  But Sarah wanted more.

“Would it not be of great advantage, socially, nationally, religiously, to have the DAY of our American Thanksgiving positively settled?  Putting aside the sectional feelings and local incidents that might be urged by any single State or isolated Territory that desired to choose its own time, would it not be more noble, more truly American, to become nationally in unity when we offer to God our tribute of joy and gratitude for the blessings of the year?” – Sarah Hale, editorial¹       

In short, Sarah wanted no less than the President of the United States to declare a national Thanksgiving, observed by every state, every year, on the same day.  And she told the President so.  In fact, she told multiple presidents!  Zachary Taylor got a letter from her but said that Thanksgiving was a matter for each state to decide.  She also wrote to presidents Filmore, Pierce, and Buchanan.  But when she wrote to Abraham Lincoln, including detailed plans for how the holiday would work, everything changed. 

“Sir, permit me to [lay] before you a subject of deep interest to – I trust – the President of our Republic.  This subject is to have…our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.  You may have observed…an increasing interest in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition to become permanently an American custom and institution.  The purpose of this letter is to entreat [you] to put forth [a] Proclamation, appointing the last Thursday in November as the National Thanksgiving.  Thus, by the noble example and action of the President…the permanency of our Great American Festival of Thanksgiving would be forever secured.” – Sarah Hale, letter to President Lincoln¹

One week later, on October 3, 1863, President Lincoln issued his famous “Thanksgiving Proclamation” to all the United States – laying the foundation for the holiday we know and love today.

As you know, we live in a politically divided nation today.  So, this Thanksgiving, as we reflect on everything, we have to be grateful for, we will remember the Mother of Thanksgiving and her tireless efforts.  We will remember that this isn’t just a day for eating turkey, or watching football, or even to see family.  It’s a day to be grateful for our country, too.  A patriotic day.  A day to promote the “national spirit.”  A day to remember that we are each a member of a great and free nation. 

From everyone at Minich MacGregor Wealth Management, wish you a happy Thanksgiving! 

Proclamation of Thanksgiving

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battlefield; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

1 Peggy Baker, “The Godmother of Thanksgiving,” Pilgrim Hall Museum, https://pilgrimhall.org/pdf/Godmother_of_Thanksgiving.pdf

Happy Veterans Day!

As you know, Veterans Day is a chance to honor those who have served our country.  Of course, we always hope that when soldiers return home from defending our country, they are rewarded for their heroism.  Sometimes, it may be in the form of a ticker tape parade.  Sometimes it may be a medal ceremony.  Sometimes it may be a plaque hung in their honor at their old high school.  It can come in many forms, but recently, we read about one soldier – Air Force pilot Royce King – who received the greatest reward of all.  You see, Royce got to watch his wife walk down the aisle in her wedding dress. 

He just had to wait 77 years to do it.    

The year was 1944.  World War II was still raging across several continents when Royce King was told he would be stationed overseas for the Air Force.  Royce had always wanted to fly and had no qualms about serving his country.  But there was just one problem: He and his fiancé, Frankie, were due to be married.  Because the young couple had already been engaged for six months, they didn’t want to delay their marriage until after the war.  After all, no one knew how long it would last – or if Royce would come home at all. 

Unfortunately, Royce was given only two days to say his goodbyes.  That simply wasn’t enough time to stage their dream wedding, so Frankie and Royce had to improvise.  They quickly booked a local church, but there was no photographer.  No elaborate meal for all their friends and family.  No grand wedding cake.  Not even a dress – Frankie wore a tailored suit instead of a white gown.¹      

But it was enough.  Because what they did have was each other.

The next day, Royce shipped out.  For a year, he flew a C-47 over the Himalayas.  Luckily, he returned home in one piece, and though they didn’t get a dream wedding or idyllic honeymoon, he and Frankie spent over seven happy decades with each other. 

Yet, while Royce and Frankie were content, their children – and the staff of St. Croix Hospice, who care for the elderly lovebirds – were not.  So, they took matters into their own hands.

On September 24, 2021, staffers helped the 98-year-old Royce into his old Air Force uniform.  They placed a handkerchief over his eyes and led him into the backyard to stand under a white arch.  In the background, another staffer played hits from the 1940s on his guitar and saxophone.  Then, Royce’s daughter, Sue, stepped up and said, “Are you ready to see your bride?” 

They removed the blindfold.  For the first time, the pilot, the veteran, the hero, was able to see his beloved Frankie in a beautiful white dress. 

As Sue later described it, “He gazed at her and just beamed.  They both did.”² 

The rest of that afternoon, husband and wife kissed under the arch, danced to the tunes of their youth, and posed in front of a photographer.  For the staff of St. Croix Hospice, it was a chance to give back to a hero.  For Royce and Frankie’s families, it was a chance to finally be able to peruse photos of a beautiful wedding. 

And for one old soldier, it was a reward long delayed…but a reward well-worth the wait. 

***

As you know, veterans give up so much in defense of our country.  Their time, their talents, and sometimes their lives.  But they also give up many of life’s richest experiences.  High school graduations and first dates and Saturday nights spent with friends.  Opportunities to be best men or bride’s maids.  Birthday parties and funerals.  Their child’s birth.  Their child’s first steps. 

The chance to see the person they love walk down the aisle. 

Our job, as citizens, is to honor and reward our veterans as much as we can.  The staff of St. Croix Hospice did that.  We hope we can all find opportunities to honor them in our own way, too.  So, this Veterans Day, let’s all strive to remember the veterans in our communities.  Let’s all strive to make theirfutures as rich as the future they have given us.

From everyone here at MinichMacGregor Wealth Management, we wish you and the veterans in your life a happy Veterans Day.  And to Royce and Frankie… congratulations!      

¹ María Luisa Paúl, “After 77 years, Iowa couple gets long overdue wedding photos – with help from hospice workers,” The Washington Post, October 10, 2021.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/10/10/hospice-workers-help-couple-take-wedding-photos/

² Caitlin O’Kane, “Couple gets wedding photo redo 77 years later,” CBS News, October 14, 2021.  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bride-wedding-day-hospice-77-years-later/

How are you feeling about work these days?
Are you a boss struggling to fill roles and retain your people? (You’re in good company.)
America is going through a pretty major reconfiguration of the labor market.
Headlines are calling it the “Great Resignation” but we think it’s deeper than that.

The pandemic threw many assumptions out of the window. It caused us to think long and hard about a lot of things.
Where we work. How we work. What work means. What we want out of life.

That existential crisis is visible on the supply side of the labor market:
Folks retiring ahead of schedule (not all by choice).¹
Folks quitting their jobs.²
Folks (primarily women) caring for kids and family instead of going back to work.³
Folks striking over pay and working conditions.⁴
Folks starting new businesses.⁵

And it’s visible on the demand side as well:
Restaurants struggling to staff up.⁶
Shipping ports clogging up because there aren’t enough truckers to haul goods away.⁷
Employers offering higher wages and perks to attract job seekers.⁸

At its most basic level, employment is a transaction: a certain amount of work for a certain amount of pay.
But it’s really much more than that.
For many of us, who we are as a worker…
A business owner…
A boss…
Is central to our identity. 
And the ground is shifting under our feet. That makes folks anxious.
High-anxiety times like these bring plenty of judgment, blame, and dramatic headlines.

Are workers who don’t want to take low-paying, high burnout jobs lazy?
Of course not.
Are business owners worried about keeping their doors open evil capitalists?
Nope.
Are employees organizing strikes or leaving for better opportunities disloyal?
No way.
We’re all doing the best we can every day.
When we see talking heads griping about “entitled” workers or “greedy” businesses, let’s remember that behind the numbers are real people with real struggles.
A parent with a medically fragile kid who is afraid to go back to work.
A business owner who worries the staffing shortage will put her out of business.
A laid-off worker who doesn’t have the skills needed to get a different job.A manager who is doing two jobs because he can’t fill a key role.

Let’s be compassionate toward one another.

What does the labor market upheaval mean for the economy?
That’s hard to say.
It could cause a slowdown in some sectors if businesses struggle to fulfill demand.
It could lead to increased inflation if higher wages get passed on as higher prices.
It could be a factor in a market correction.
It could also accelerate trends toward automation, remote work, and offshoring.

Bottom line: Like most major events in history, the overall consequences won’t be fully visible for a long time.

We’ll close by asking: what’s your take on all this?
Are you pondering any big work or life changes?

P.S. What else do you think the pandemic will change? Any thoughts to share?

¹https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2021/09/28/why-are-americans-retiring-earlier

²https://news.yahoo.com/why-american-workers-are-quitting-in-record-numbers-151116968.html

³https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/the-pandemic-was-a-breaking-point-for-caretakers-will-it-be-a-turning-point

⁴https://www.reuters.com/world/us/enoughs-enough-tight-us-job-market-triggers-strikes-more-pay-2021-10-18/

⁵https://www.gspublishing.com/content/research/en/reports/2021/10/04/be005ed1-1b6b-42f7-af9b-fb209077ca35.html

⁶https://www.wboy.com/news/health/coronavirus/restaurants-continue-to-face-staffing-shortages/

⁷https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/14/business/supply-chain-ports-biden-inflation/index.html

⁸https://www.retaildive.com/news/retailers-are-betting-on-wage-hikes-perks-to-woo-workers-ahead-of-the-holi/607815/

As financial advisors, our passion centers around helping our clients build and preserve the wealth that will carry them into retirement.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is a month to reflect on and remember the women in our lives who have lived with or lost their battle with breast cancer.

It is also that time of the year to support those women who may need encouragement to make that appointment and attend their annual screening. In many places, this is a taboo subject And because of this prohibition, too many women have died from a disease that can be treated when caught in the early stages.

Deaths from breast cancer have dropped over time, it is still the second leading cause of cancer death among women.  According to BreastCancer.org, about 13% of women will develop it over the course of their lifetime.[i] That is one in eight women. 43,600 women are expected to die in this year alone. There are 3.8 million women in the US who have breast cancer or have recently completed treatment for it. And depending on where they are in their journey, this may or may not be a death sentence for them.

But the women you love don’t have to be another statistic.

You see, there is hope for those with breast cancer when it is caught early enough for treatment. In fact, the survival rates are quite spectacular. Today, mammography is the most effective weapon we have in detecting breast cancer.  So, this October, we encourage you to support the women in your lives by urging them to get this screening done. That support can be anything from wearing a pink ribbon to providing the time and space they need to get screened. Whatever shape your support takes, it will be appreciated. And who knows, perhaps it will even save the life of someone you love.

Let’s be frank – breast cancer is a killer. Unless, of course, we catch it and treat it early. So, let’s spread the word and remind our loved ones that this is the month to take care of business if they haven’t done so already. 

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!”[ii]

So, let’s do our best to prevent this from affecting your future…so we can keep working to make your future everything you want it to be!

_{[i] https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/understand_bc/statistics}

_{[ii] https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-02-02-0002}