The Covid-19 pandemic was one of the most disruptive events of the last 100-plus years, on the level of two world wars, although it did not last as long. But like the world wars of the past century, when women were enlisted to work in factories in all manner of jobs previously held by men so the men could go…
Read MoreAuthor: Pierre G. Villere
The Insurance Challenge Is Here
As I travel around the country visiting with clients and making industry presentations, I hear the same from almost every producer about the challenges in their businesses: not enough drivers, fuel costs, materials cost rising faster than they can pass them on as among the most frequent. But there is another shoe about to drop that may impact producers, both…
Read MoreThe Changing Face of Retail
I love to fish. My wife and I are avid saltwater fishermen here in the waters of South Louisiana, and we spend our summers catching all manner of saltwater species, feeding ourselves and our employees, friends, and neighbors with the freshest of just-caught seafood. What has changed dramatically for me over the last 20 years is the way I go…
Read MoreEconomic Strength in Construction Shows No End in Sight
A couple of issues ago, I wrote in Concrete Products, sister publication of Cement Products, about how we are willing ourselves into a recession even as the economic indicators point in a different direction. Like so many periods in the past, this is an anxious time in the economy as we try to understand its direction, and despite the positive…
Read MoreHow Commercial Office Space Vacancies are Affecting Tax Revenues
We all thought putting masks on for a few weeks would be a temporary blip, and that the scourge of Covid-19 would simply go away. Well, as we all know, it cut much deeper into the very fabric of our economy, affecting us in so many ways. First, PPP money and personal stimulus initiatives from the U.S. government fueled inflation…
Read MoreIndustry Employment: Prepare for the Future
Among the most frustrating aspects of life as we went through the pandemic, and which haunts us still today, is the employment picture. There is no minimizing the magnitude of human tragedy, with an official tally of over 5.2 million hospital admissions and a stunning 1.04 million deaths; the sheer human loss is unspeakable. But for the vast majority of…
Read MoreAnother Look at the Pandemic: How the Fed Stepped in to Save the Economy
It is always interesting to see how quickly our attention and focus can turn from one crisis to the next, with the former being forgotten and seen only in the rearview mirror. Of course, the media gives us no choice, as it is their focus on the story of the moment that gets the ink. With the war in Ukraine…
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